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L. C. CHILDS & SON, 

PRINTERS AND BINDERS, 

UTICA, N. Y. 




PHOTO. BY BRAINERO. 



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MEMORIAL 



President Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D 



He in his life built his own monument; 
We who remain the epitah indite; 
A citizen, chivalric as a knight; 
His mail — a courage wrought of pure intent 
That civic wrong give place to civic right. 
A scholar — He with Plato often trod 
The Academic groves in guest of light, 
Yet with a full clear vision of the God 
Great Plato dimly saw. 

A teacher wise, 
He held God's word as God's; in its defence 
Stood as a rock. He made no compromise 
'Twixt truth and error, and when zeal intense 
Failed to persuade, he oft with love beguiled, 
Since in his faith he was a little child. 




XHtica, n. !3, t 
1893, 






PREPARED BY 

HIS SON, 

RICHARD W. DARLING. 



HENRY DARLING. 

Born in Reading, Penn., December 27, 1823. 

Graduated from Amherst College in 1842. 

Graduated from Auburn Theological Seminary in 1845. 

Preached at Vernon, N. Y., 1845-6. 

Ordained and Installed Pastor of the Presbyterian Church 

in Hudson, N. Y. , December 30, 1846. 
Installed Pastor of the Clinton St. Church, Philadelphia, 

Penn., April 20, 1853. 
Received degree of Doctor of Divinity from Union College 

in i860. 
Published the "Closer Walk" in 1862. 
Installed Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Albany, 

N. Y., February 13, 1864. 
Director of Union Theological Seminary 1874-81. 
Moderator of Presbyterian General Assembly, 1881. 
Received degree of Doctor of Laws from Lafayette College 

and Hamilton College in 1881. 
President of Hamilton College 1 881 -91. 
Trustee of Auburn Theological Seminary 1884-91. 
Member of Victoria Institute, or Philosophical Society of 

Great Britain. 
Died on College Hill, April 20, 1891. 
Buried in Albany Rural Cemetery. 



HENRY DARLING 

WAS born in Reading, Penn., December 27, 1823. His 
father, Hon. William Darling, was of New England 
birth, a native of Bucksport, Maine. In early man- 
hood he cameto Reading, where he was admitted to the bar 
and entered actively into the practice of the law. He soon 
acquired prominence in his profession, and was at one time 
the President Judge of Berks District. 

Judge Darling was a leader in every project for the 
highest welfare of society. His love for and interest in the 
young was especially absorbing and sincere. As the or- 
ganizer of Sabbath schools in Reading, he commended 
to popular approval a movement which was not originally 
regarded with any degree of general popular favor. His 
labors in that noble work were blessed to the moral well- 
being of multitudes of the youth of that city and com- 
munity both in and out of all the religious denominations. 
As a promoter of the cause of temperance and public ed- 
ucation he manfully stemmed the current of popular habit 
and prejudice in his day, devoting himself with no less con- 
spicuous zeal to every project for intellectual advancement. 

He was long a ruling elder of the Presbyterian church 
of Reading and an influential counsellor in the representa- 
tive bodies of that denomination during the most exciting 
period of its history. He was a vice president of the 
American Sunday School Union from its organization until 
his death in 1871, and also a corporate member of the 
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. 
In 1820, shortly after coming to Reading, Judge Darling 
married Miss Margaretta Vaughn Smith, a daughter of 



IO 

John Smith, Esq., the owner of Joanna Furnace, Berks 
county, Penn. She belonged to an old and highly re- 
spected family of Chester county in that State, distin- 
guished both for their services during the war of the 
revolution and in the legislative assemblies of the State. 

Her grandfather, Col. Robert Smith, in 1757 qualified as 
sergeant in the French and English war. In the year 
1776 by the appointment, of the Supreme Executive Coun- 
cil of Pennsylvania, he had charge of the placing of ob- 
structions in the channel of the Delaware river for the 
defense of the city of Philadelphia, and also in planning its 
land fortifications. He was subsequently appointed to the 
responsible post of Lieutenant of Chester county, and 
had the charge of the raising, arming and provisioning of 
the militia contingent of his district and in every way pre- 
paring the troops to take the field. He held many other 
offices of responsibility and trust in his county, and was in 
1785 a member of the State legislature. 

Col. Smith was a staunch Presbyterian, and an elder in 
the church of Brandywine Manor, of which the Rev. John 
Carmichael was pastor. 

Mrs. Darling was a woman of high social and intellec- 
tual attainments, and like her honored husband an active 
participant in every good work in the community. 

Such was the parentage of Henry Darling. He was pre- 
pared for college at a select school in his native place, and 
when not quite fifteen years of age entered the Freshman 
class of Amherst College. Although the youngest man in 
his class, he very soon became prominent as a scholar and 
leader in college matters. In the work of the literary so- 
cieties he took an active part, was president of "Alex- 
andria," and contributed many articles to the college pub- 
lications. He graduated with the class of 1842, taking 



1 1 

high honors. Among his classmates were several who 
have become prominent in church and State, among them 
Rev. D. T. Fiske, D. D., president of the Board of 
Trustees of Andover Theological Seminary, Hon. Wm. 
Allen, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Massa- 
chusetts, and Hon. Waldo Hutchins, a Member of Con- 
gress from New York. 

Mr. Darling's proficiency in the mathematical studies, 
led to his being offered at graduation, a position in the 
faculty, as an instructor in that department. 

Previous to entering college, and when but twelve years 
of age, he united by profession of faith with the Presby- 
terian Church of Reading, and it was during a season of 
religious interest while a student that he determined upon 
the gospel ministry as his life work. In the fall of 1842 
he entered the Junior class in the Union Theological Sem- 
inary. There he became greatly interested in the religious 
condition and needs of the West. The rapid increase of its 
population, the opening and settling of new States, seemed 
to him to call for an increased activity upon the part of the 
church, and the sending to those new fields of labor of an 
energetic and consecrated ministry. After much careful 
thought and earnest prayer he gave himself to this difficult 
and self-sacrificing work. 

The seminary at Auburn v/as regarded at that time as 
affording the best course of instruction and training for 
those who were to engage in this missionary work. Ac- 
cordingly, at the close of the first year in Union Seminary, 
he joined the middle class at Auburn. Here he completed 
his theological studies, graduating in 1845. He was chosen 
as one of the four speakers from the class at the commence- 
ment exercises. In 1844 he was licensed to preach by the 
Presbytery of Cayuga. 



12 

By the advice of his seminary professors, who had 
watched his course as a student with great interest and ap- 
preciation, and who thought that his scholarly talents and 
habits in a very peculiar degree fitted him for successful 
work in the East, he reluctantly abandoned the long and 
deeply cherished purpose of going as a missionary to the 
far Western States. 

Although entering the ministry at the age when most 
men were just completing their college studies, he received 
many flattering calls to the pastorate. With his natural 
modesty, however, he thought it best to spend the first 
year of professional life in some small parish, where he 
could have the time to continue his studies, and also in 
some degree familiarize himself with the practical work of 
a pastor. With this object in view, he became the stated 
supply of the Presbyterian Church in Vernon, Oneida 
county, N. Y. , where he had preached during the latter 
part of his student life in Auburn. In this pleasant village 
a happy and successful year was passed, and here, as else- 
where, the people became greatly attached to him, and life- 
long friendships were formed. 

In the following year calls were tendered him by Presby- 
terian churches in Wilmington, Delaware ; Hudson and 
Geneva, N. Y. Guided by the advice of friends and 
especially by that of the Rev. Albert Barnes, a life-long 
friend of his father, he accepted the call from the church 
in Hudson. On the 30th of December, 1846, he was or- 
dained and installed by the Presbytery of Columbia. The 
sermon upon this occasion was preached by the Rev. Dr. 
Baxter Dickinson, of Auburn Seminary. This church was 
an important one in the New School branch. Its pulpit 
had been occupied by men of ability and reputation. It 
numbered among its members many families of high social 



13 

and intellectual culture, and connected with the congrega- 
tion were many men of eminent professional standing. 

It was an exceedingly difficult position for so young a 
man, but little more than twenty-one, to fill with accept- 
ance. The demands both upon the intellectual and physi- 
cal powers -were necessarily very great, but so ably and 
well did he meet all these demands, that after he had been 
with them but a single year, he was presented by the con- 
gregation with a testimonial of their apprepreciation, in 
which they said : "In your character as a citizen, friend 
and neighbor, no less than as a pastor and preacher, you 
have exhibited traits and qualities of a high and exemplary 
nature, which have won the esteem, the appreciation and 
respect of all, and it is with unusual pleasure that we take 
this occasion to add our testimony to the unanimous voice 
of your congregation that in nothing have you failed to 
Teach far above and beyond their expectations." 

Mr. Darling was much interested in the condition of the 
small, struggling churches in the rural districts within the 
bounds of the Columbian Presbytery, and under his direc- 
tion much was done by his church in assisting them spirit- 
ually and financially. Notwithstanding the many duties of 
his own large parish, he frequently conducted preaching 
services in these churches when they were without a pastor, 
and was ever ready to help them by his presence or coun- 
sel. 

During the year 185 1, in company with his father, who 
had been appointed a commissioner from the United States 
to the World's Fair at the Crystal Palace, London, he 
traveled extensively throughout England and on the conti- 
nent. While there they were the recipients of many social 
courtesies. Judge Darling's long and prominent connec- 
tion with Sunday school work, and with questions of social 



14 

reform, led to his being invited to address several of the 
religious and charitable associations of London, which 
duties he performed with great acceptance. 

During his absence in Europe, Mr. Darling met with a 
great affliction in the death of his wife, a daughter of Rev. 
William Strong, of Fayetteville, N. Y. 

Upon his return to Hudson he took up his work with re- 
newed activity. His reputation as a preacher, pastor and 
man of affairs rapidly increased and insured his call to still 
larger fields of labor and influence. 

April 27, 1853, Mr. Darling was married to Miss Ophelia 
Wells, a daughter of Richard I. Wells, Esq. , a prominent 
and honored citizen of Hudson. This union was an ideal 
one. In all the many duties and cares belonging to the 
wife of a city pastor, both social and religious, Mrs. Dar- 
ling was ever the helper and supporter of her husband. 
Their home was always one of open and generous hospital- 
ity, and especially so to all their ministerial brethren. 

Shortly before his marriage he had been tendered a 
unanimous call to become the successor of the distinguished 
Dr. Joel Parker, in the pastorate of the Clinton Street Pres- 
byterian Church of Philadelphia, Penn. It was hard for 
him to leave a people to whom he had become so strongly 
attached, and who had made his pastorate of eight years 
such a pleasant one. Under his care he had seen the 
church greatly prosper in every way. It had grown in 
numbers and power and exerted a wide influence for good. 
The call from Philadelphia, however, was given under such 
peculiar circumstances and was so earnestly pressed, that 
he thought it his duty to accept it. 

In April of 1853, he was installed as pastor of the Clin- 
ton Street Church. This church was then one of the lead- 
ing Presbyterian churches of the city. Organized by the late 



i5 

Dr. John Todd, a man very widely known throughout the 
country, as a Congregationalist church, it had in 1842 
changed its polity and become Presbyterian. Under Dr. 
Parker's care it had greatly prospered. It had a large and in- 
fluential membership. Its location and church edifice were 
among the most desirable in the city. With the historic 
First Church it was closely associated, its pastors frequently 
exchanging pulpits. 

In the discharge of his duties as its pastor Mr. Darling 
was a remarkably conscientious and laborious worker. 
The church grew rapidly in numbers and power. Under 
his direction a mission school was founded in a neglected 
neighborhood, then known as the Moyamensing District 
of Philadelphia. Here a large number of poor children 
were gathered, and a very handsome chapel erected, where 
they were rescued from haunts of vice and received useful 
instruction. In every department of Christian work he 
made his church a power for good. It was one of the 
most important and useful churches of the city. 

Upon the death of the Rev. E. W. Gilbert, D. D., in 
1854, he was elected the permanent clerk of the General 
Assembly, (N. S.) This office brought him into great promi- 
nence before the church and widened his acquaintance 
with men and religious and ecclesiastic affairs. The 
position demanded executive ability of a high order. 
Its duties were all performed to the great satisfaction of the 
church. When compelled by ill health to retire from the 
pastorate, he tendered to the Assembly his resignation of 
the clerkship. They unanimously refused to receive it, and 
it was only when upon his removal from Philadelphia, that, 
actuated by his high and delicate sense of honor, and by 
the conviction that the office should be held by a resident 



i6 

of that city, he again tendered his resignation, that the As- 
sembly, yielding to his demand, received it. 

During his residence in Philadelphia Mr. Darling was 
placed in positions of very important public trust at an 
age earlier than is usual in large denominations. He was 
a prominent and important member of the Publication, 
Education, Church Extension, Home and Foreign Mission 
Committees. His knowledge of men and things was both 
extensive and acute. His practical judgment in these 
central committees, a position in a church resembling that 
of a cabinet council of a nation, for they involve the general 
and minute interests of a denomination for the entire 
country, was very much relied upon. He had a talent for 
seeing the precise knot of a difficulty and for helping disen- 
tangle it. He knew what ought to be done to set forward 
a great cause and what would retard it. He understood 
how to take the masses of men that must be consulted, 
and how to conciliate as well as to inspirit. His prac- 
tical business talents made him a valuable man in any 
position. Other trusts were offered him but he was 
obliged to decline them. 

In the movement for the purchase of the property on 
Chestnut street, Philadelphia, now known as the ' ' Presby- 
terian House," as the headquarters for the publication and 
other committees he took an active part. He was a mem- 
ber of the committee to solicit subscriptions, and in many 
ways did much to secure the success of the project. The 
premises were purchased, a charter obtained and they be- 
came the property of the Church. For several years he 
was a trustee of the Corporation. 

Every movement that tended to promote the interests of 
his denomination as of the church at large, had in him an 
earnest supporter. 



17 

Amid all the rapidly multiplying duties of pulpit and par- 
ish, he found time to perform many extra services in the 
church and on the platform. By the invitation of the Synod 
of Pennsylvania, in 1854 he preached the sermon before 
that body, taking as his subject " The Great Work of the 
Church." In it he made an eloquent plea for the increase 
of the ministry by the training and education of the young 
men. The discourse, at the request of the Synod, was pub- 
lished and widely circulated. 

He also did a great deal of literary work. He was among 
those who were instrumental in the establishment of the 
American Presbyterian, and contributed to its editorial and 
other columns. Many articles from his pen appeared in 
the Presbyterian Quarterly Review, and other religious 
periodicals. 

In i860, Union College conferred upon him the honor- 
ary degree of Doctor of Divinity. 

Dr. Darling's health, which had never been strong, at 
this time gave way under the pressure of work, and in 1861 
he was obliged to tender his resignation as pastor of the 
Clinton Street Church. His people refused to receive it, 
voted him a year's leave of absence and offered him the 
means of spending a period of rest in Europe. 

By the advice of his physicians, who told him that he 
must be relieved of all work and responsibility, and ac- 
tuated by his high sense of duty, which would not allow 
him to occupy a position when he could no longer perform 
its duties, he again tendered his resignation and insisted 
upon its acceptance. Yielding to his demand his church re- 
luctantly received it. His departure from this important 
field of labor was lamented not only by his church, but by 
the entire community. 

In formally severing his relations with the Clinton Street 



i8 

Church, the Third Presbytery of Philadelphia expressed 
their appreciation and affection in the following minute : 

4 4 Presbytery cannot consent to dissolve the pastoral re- 
lations between Dr. Darling and the Clinton Street Church, 
without some expression of the feelings of sorrow with 
which they are reluctantly brought to the conclusion that 
the dissolution is one made necessary by the Providence of 
God, and thus entirely beyond their control. 

"It is the settled conviction of Dr. Darling, in which we 
see much reason to concur, that his health requires entire 
cessation from labor and responsibility. 

4 ' In the expressions of deep regret contained in the ac- 
tion of the congregation at parting with their pastor,, 
Presbytery sincerely sympathize. 

4 4 Our own relations with Dr. Darling have been uniformly 
kind and fraternal, and as we have looked with interest on 
his labors in so important a congregation, we have seen his 
manner of life, as a preacher and a pastor. We have noted 
with much pleasure his activity, his energy, his indefati- 
gable perseverance, his evangelical spirit, his kindly man- 
ner, his faithful study and his sound, judicious, clear and 
scriptural preaching. The oversight of this valued flock 
was given him with much pleasure, and every year has con- 
firmed the wisdom of the action of the congregation and 
the Presbytery in this case. 

44 Our sympathies are most cordially given, both to the 
congregation and to our brother Darling. Our prayer is 
that he, in his retirement, may experience the consolations 
of a pure faith and a heavenly communion, that he may be 
entirely restored to health and be made still more eminently 
useful than he has been in the past." 

The next few years were passed in Germantown, a beau- 
tiful suburb of Philadelphia. 

It was a most grievious affliction for one of his active 
temperament and ardent in his zeal for the work of his 
Master, just as he saw his influence for good so rapidly in- 
creasing, to be obliged to give up his work. But this 
period of suffering and pain was not spent in bitter com- 
plaining nor in idleness. Relieved of the duties of the 
pastorate he gave himself, as far as his strength 
would permit, to study and literary work. If he could no 



19 

longer with his voice speak for Christ and His Church, he 
could by his pen be a means of continued usefulness. 

In 1862 he published the " Closer Walk, or the Believer's 
Sanctification." In this book, which is of a devotional 
character, he emphatically insists upon progression in re- 
ligion, and a continued increase of sanctification as neces- 
sary to a true Christian life. It is a fervent appeal to all 
who are aiming at a higher life and who are seeking ' ' to 
walk closer with God. " This work met with general favor, 
several editions were published, and it is now among the 
standard books of the Publication Board. It was repub- 
lished in England and translated into several of the lan- 
guages of India. To many Christians all over the world it is 
a source of spiritual inspiration and strength. Many years 
after its publication, a very distinguished divine and 
scholar told the author that he kept a copy of the ' ' Closer 
Walk" by the side of his Bible, and that he never failed to 
read from it every day. 

At this time appeared his ' ' Worship as an Element of 
Sanctuary Service," a plea for such "beautiful symmetry 
between worship and instruction as to make the whole ap- 
pear but one act of grateful homage to Jehovah." 

Dr. Darling's interest in the great civil war, which was 
then raging, and his loyalty to the government, showed 
itself in his pamphlet ' ' Slavery and the War. " In it he 
carefully and exhaustively treats of the history of slavery 
in this country; shows how it was forced upon our colonies 
by England, even against their protest, and traces the 
gradual growth of the pro-slavery feeling in the Southern 
States. Although written during the darkest days of the 
war, the author declared it to be " his settled conviction, 
that the issue of this war will be the entire destruction of 
American slavery." It was a valuable addition to the lit- 



20 

erature of those times. Everywhere the public press gave 
it most favorable notice. It was declared to be "a work 
which should be placed in the hands of every loyal man in 
the land." The Union League Club of Philadelphia, 
adopted it for circulation. 

During this period of retirement Dr. Darling preached as 
often as health would permit. He continued his official 
relations with the church's committees, and in addition to 
his other positions was elected a member of the execu- 
tive committee of the Presbyterian Historical Society. As 
far as he was able he participated in the work of the 
" Christian Commission," for the care of sick and wounded 
soldiers. 

Indeed no man ever put to a better use, both in the way 
of self-improvement and of doing good to others, a period 
of cessation from the active duties of the ministry. 

In 1863 he declined an invitation to take charge of the 
American Chapel in Paris. 

Upon his complete restoration to health, Dr. Darling ac- 
cepted a call to the pastorate of the Fourth Presbyterian 
Church in Albany, N. Y., and was installed February 13, 
1864. Here were passed more than seventeen years of 
happy and successful work. 

Very soon after coming to Albany the old church build- 
ing was torn down, and a new and stately edifice erected at 
a cost of more than $100,000, and dedicated without any 
burden of debt. During the entire period of Dr. Darling's 
pastorate the church enjoyed steady and striking prosper- 
ity. With a membership of over seven hundred, and a 
Sunday school of equal size, and raising more than $20,000 
a year for missionary and charitable objects, it was the 
most magnificent Presbyterian organization in the city. 

In all the arduous and complex duties growing out of 



21 

the care of so large a parish, Dr. Darling was sustained, 
strengthened and encouraged by the hearty cooperation 
of a loving people. They were ever ready and desirous of 
expressing to him their personal affection and their appre- 
ciation of his work. No plan or effort for good could be 
suggested by him that did not at once meet with the 
cordial approval and earnest assistance. In everything he 
was loyally and lovingly supported. He made it emphat- 
ically a live and working church. Under his direction it 
did much for the welfare of the small churches in the rural 
districts around Albany. It contributed to the support of 
their pastors, and in many instances towards the erection 
of their places of worship. 

No man ever loved his profession more deeply than did 
Dr. Darling. He felt it not only to be a duty, but also a 
privilege, to assist his clerical brethren. In him they had 
one to whom they could freely and fully confide all their 
troubles and difficulties, knowing that he would by his 
wise counsel and generous aid do much to lighten and al- 
leviate their burdens. So assiduous was he in this work 
that he was very often spoken of as the ' ' Bishop of Al- 
bany." 

In 1867 a colony was sent out from the Fourth Church 
and organized as the Sixth Presbyterian Church in Albany. 
Notwithstanding the parent church had just completed 
their own new edifice at a large cost, a total of $25,000 
was raised by it for this new enterprise, a handsome build- 
ing provided, and for many years the Fourth Church 
generously contributed to its support. 

In addition to this a mission school was maintained in a 
destitute part of the city, and supplied with officers and 
teachers from the Fourth Church. To every institution of 
the city which had for its object the good of the commun- 



22 

ity and the spread of the gospel, this church was a gener- 
ous contributor. 

The pastorate in a city the capital of the State, neces- 
sarily brought with it many duties of a public nature. At 
almost every session of the legislature Dr. Darling ap- 
peared before some of its committees in advocacy of 
measures of social or political reform. He strenuously 
urged before them the cause of temperance by the rigid en- 
forcement of the existing excise laws, and opposed any 
widening or relaxing of these laws. In this work he was 
bold and unflinching. As a member of the Law and Order 
League of the city, he did not hesitate to take an active 
personal interest in the work of the arrest and conviction 
of those guilty of a violation of the law. His idea of the 
duty of a minister as a citizen led him to engage in every 
movement for the welfare of the city. As a representative 
citizen his presence was sought at every public meeting, 
and he was ever ready to meet every call for service. 

In addition to his pulpit and pastoral duties he filled 
numerous engagements at dedication, installation and 
other similar services. He preached many sermons upon 
public occasions throughout the country, and delivered ad- 
dresses before college literary societies, and at other 
scholastic gatherings. At the invitation of the faculty of 
Auburn Theological Seminary he one year gave a course of 
lectures to the Senior class of that institution upon the 
work of a pastor. He continued his literary work, con- 
tributing articles to theological reviews and other religious 
publications. Among the many articles and sermons pub- 
lished are ''Conformity to the World," " Difficulties of 
Revelation," "Christian Unity," "Doing Nothing but Re- 
ceiving," "Preaching and Modern Skepticism," etc. 

He was connected with various literary and scientific 



23 

clubs of the city, and as far as possible attended and par- 
ticipated in their meetings. 

During these years many calls were received from other 
fields of labor. In 1867 he was elected to the secretary- 
ship of the Education Committee. He was very strongly 
urged to accept this office. His high professional and social 
standing, his wide acquaintance throughout the church, 
together with his executive ability and well-known interest 
in the education of young men for the ministry, fitted 
him, it was thought, in a very remarkable degree, for the 
duties of this position. 

His strong attachment to the people of the Fourth 
Church, and the conviction that he was needed there, led 
him to decline this call, as well as many others both to the 
pastorate and theological professorships. 

During his residence in Albany he held many positions 
of trust. He was connected with the official boards of 
many of the religious, charitable and educational institu- 
tions of the city. He served as a director of Union Theo- 
logical Seminary from 1874 to 1881, when he resigned. In 
the discharge of the duties of these positions he was faith- 
ful, giving the various institutions the benefit of his pres- 
ence and counsel. 

In 1 88 1, Dr. Darling was unanimously elected to the 
presidency of Hamilton College. This opened to him a 
new field of intellectual and moral effort. 

While he had never been technically a teacher in any 
institution, he was known to be devoted to education and 
a ripe scholar in many departments. As a successful or- 
ganizer and promoter of great public interests he enjoyed a 
wide reputation, and his executive ability had been fully 
tested in the various official trusts he had held in his 
church. In the cause of higher Christian education, es- 



24 

pecially in connection with the Presbyterian Church, he 
had always been deeply interested, and had heartily en- 
tered into the movement, then being made, to bring Ham- 
ilton College into closer relations with that denomination 
and thus increase her usefulness. With other members 
of a committee appointed for that purpose he appeared be- 
fore several of the Synods of the State in advocacy of the 
plan. 

He was strongly urged to accept this position by the of- 
ficers, alumni and friends of the college. From all over the 
country letters were received from his professional breth- 
ren and others expressing their hearty approval of his elec- 
tion and pressing him to accept. 

It was a most difficult question for him to decide. He 
loved and honored the work of a pastor, he regarded it the 
noblest and grandest work that any man could be engaged 
in. In the performance of its duties he had spent many 
years, and these duties had become the pleasanter as time 
went on. He Was as devoted to the people of his church, 
as they were to him, and it was hard even to think of 
severing the ties which had bound them together for so 
many years. Every effort was put forth by the church to 
induce him to remain with them. The expressions of per- 
sonal affection that were made to him were numerous and 
affecting. 

After careful and mature deliberation he signified to the 
authorities of the college his acceptance of the honorable 
office tendered him. 

In June of that year he preached his farewell sermon to 
his congregation, closing his long, happy and remarkably 
successful pastorate with them. 

The Albany Evening Journal in its editoral referring to 
the occasion, said : 



2 5 

4 ' Rev. Dr. Darling last evening finished his service as 
pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of this city, and 
on our first page we print his eloquent, impressive and af- 
fecting farewell sermon. To-day our esteemed friend 
stands ' at the parting of the ways. ' One great chapter of 
his life's work is ended. Soon he will go from us to another 
field of intellectual and moral effort. 

' ' In bidding him good-bye and God-speed we know we 
but speak what is in the hearts of all our citizens, what- 
ever may be their church relations, in testifying to the af- 
fectionate regard in which he is held by all of them, and 
their sincere regret at parting with so strong and helpful a 
man. Dr. Darling has potent claims upon the enduring 
gratitude of Albany. For nearly twenty years he has been 
a burning and shining light in this community. He has 
constantly pointed the path to heaven, and as constantly 
led the way. In other words, for nearly two decades he 
has striven to promote the best interests of this city, to 
render it more like the beatific city out of sight. No career 
is more exacting than that of the pastor of a large city 
church. Its duties are multitudinous, its responsibilities 
delicate and most weighty, its drafts upon the complex life of 
body, mind and soul constant and severe. It is the universal 
testimony that Dr. Darling has so ministered to the Fourth 
Presbyterian Church as to command the plaudit ' well 
done good and faithful servant.' He parted with his peo- 
ple with a prayer for their prosperity ; they respond with 
a similar petition for him, and all Albany will heartily 
join in exclaiming 

" May all his prospects brighten to the last, 
His Heaven commencing ere the world be past." 

In this year both Hamilton and Lafayette Colleges con- 
ferred upon Dr. Darling the degree of Doctor of Laws. 

September 15, 1881, Dr. Darling was formally inducted 
into office as the eighth president of Hamilton College. 
The subject of his inaugural address was, " Culture and 
Religion, their relative place and sphere in the education 
of the American College. " 

To the discharge of the duties of this new and important 
position, he brought the same energy, enthusiasm and per- 
severance which had ever characterized him. He never 



26 

failed to give himself entirely to every work in which he 
was engaged. 

For the purpose of increasing the funds of the college he 
presented her claims in many of the cities and towns 
throughout the State. In her behalf he appeared before 
the Synod and Presbyteries urging that a generous aid be 
given her by the church. He attended gatherings of the 
alumni and friends of the college, and sought in every way 
to promote her interests. 

In these labors he was in a very large degree successful. 
During his administration more than $60,000 were ex- 
pended upon the material equipment of the college, in the 
way of new buildings and the remodeling of others. A 
number of new scholarships were founded and gifts made 
from year to year for the education of poor and deserving 
young men. Additions were also made to the permanent 
funds, and by his careful oversight and aided by the wise and 
judicious management of its financial officers the income 
of the institution for the past few years has been sufficient 
to meet the expenditures. 

In 1889 by the generous liberality of Horace B. Silliman, 
LL.D., a warm personal friend, a magnificent hall was 
erected for the College Young Men's Christian Association. 
The building was completely furnished and a fund es- 
tablished for its maintenance by the donor. This gift has 
proved to be of incalculable benefit not only in the religious 
but also in the social life of the students. 

Through the generosity of personal friends and friends 
of the college large and valuable additions of money and 
b>ooks were made to the library. This most important de- 
partment of a liberal culture enlisted his earnest effort. 
He provided for its being opened to the use of the students 
every day of the secular week. The large collection of 



27 

books and pamphlets which had hitherto been kept without 
method or order, he caused, at a large expense, to be ar- 
ranged and catalogued according to the latest and most ap- 
proved system. 

The library was thus made an active and important de- 
partment of the college. Among the additions made to the 
library at this time are the ' ' Porter, " ' ' Trask" and 
"Milne." 

During the ten years of Dr. Darling's administration the 
standard of scholarship was greatly raised. The course of 
study was broadened and the number of elective studies in- 
creased. The department of modern languages was made 
most thorough and efficient. The faculty was enlarged and 
strengthened by the appointment of assistant professors of 
Greek and of English. Still other changes in this respect 
were contemplated. 

In the work of instruction Dr. Darling took a much 
larger share than is usual with college presidents. As the 
incumbent of the ' ' Walcott Professorship of the Evidences 
of Christianity," he lectured every Monday morning through- 
out the year to the Senior class on "Theism," " Natural 
Religion," and " Christian Evidences." During the winter 
term he met the same class for instruction in Moral Philos- 
ophy. At one time during a vacancy in the faculty, he 
took the greater part of the work in history in addition to 
his other duties. 

For the work of the class room he prepared himself most 
thoroughly, giving to it the best of his mature intellect and 
deep scholarship. With the use of the text book he com- 
bined frequent lectures, giving his class the views of other 
great writers and thinkers, and thus affording them a wider 
and more intelligent comprehension of the subject than 
could be obtained from the study of a single book. He 



28 

familiarized himself with the thought of the day in his de- 
partment and sought in every way to make his instruction 
both profitable and pleasant. Every interest of the college 
received his close personal supervision; nothing was so 
small or trivial as to escape his attention. 

In the religious life of the institution and the moral and 
spiritual welfare of its students he was most profoundly 
interested. As the pastor of the college church he preached 
almost every Sabbath morning, and in the evening of that 
day conducted a prayer meeting in the chapel. To these 
services he gave the same careful and prayerful preparation 
which had always marked his pulpit work, writing each 
week a new sermon. Those duties were to him a work of 
love, especially the social meetings for prayer. 

He loved young men and was ever ready, even anxious 
to do all in his power for them. He took a deep personal 
interest in each student, and was familiar with their indi- 
vidual needs, sympathized with them in their sorrows and 
rejoiced with them in their successes. In many instances 
he assisted with his own means, students who would 
otherwise have been obliged to abandon their studies. 

His farewell address to the class as they left the college 
halls was no mere formal expression of affection, and hope 
for their future success, but was the heartfelt wish of a 
friend. 

As a preacher Dr. Darling was eloquent, impressive and 
instructive. He was a careful student, never asking a con- 
gregation to listen to undigested matter, but winnowing 
the chaff from the wheat before he offered it for their ac- 
ceptance. His sermons were profoundly thoughtful, beauti- 
fully and logically expressed, and forcibly delivered. They 
were frequently adorned with apt and appropriate quota- 
tions from ancient and modern writers, the result of his 



29 

varied reading and scholarship. He kept himself in touch 
with the thought of the day, not only in theology and 
kindred subjects, but also in other departments of learn- 
ing. His discourses were eminently helpful and instruc- 
tive and always conveyed to their hearers some new idea 
of divine truth or impulse to a renewed Christian activity. 

He magnified the work of preaching as the great instru- 
mentality chosen by the Head of the Church for the world's 
vangelization. To use his own words, " to unfold scrip- 
ture doctrine, to define its boundaries, to marshal in the 
order and majesty of a demonstration its proofs, and vig- 
orously to press its claims upon the intellect and heart of 
men is to-day the minister s great business." 

In his pastoral labors Dr. Darling commended himself 
to all. A welcome visitor among the cultivated and re- 
fined, he never neglected the poor. His manners were 
singularly bland and persuasive, and his high sense of duty 
*ed him to believe that he was in a peculiar sense respon- 
sible for the welfare of all who placed themselves under 
his pastoral care. He was a most vigilant shepherd, carry- 
ing out that beautiful figurative designation to its obvious 
meaning, by a kind interest in every class of his flock. 

One other aspect of the life and work of Dr. Darling 
remains to be noticed. 

As a Presbyterian minister he was widely known and 
honored. While of a broad and evangelical spirit, intol- 
erant of all narrowness of belief or profession, freely and 
fully recognizing the brotherhood of all Christians, he was 
nevertheless a loyal and devoted supporter of the doctrines 
and polity of his denomination. 

From early manhood he took an active and influential 
part in the church judicatories. He had a great fondness 
for ecclesiastical matters, and was thoroughly acquainted 



30 

with the law and polity of the church. Possessed of nat- 
ural traits of leadership, without in any way unduly push- 
ing himself forward, he became a recognized leader 
among his professional brethren, and they freely and spon- 
taneously gave him every honor. His position in his early 
professional life, as the permanent clerk of the General As- 
sembly, had made him familiar with the course of proced- 
ure of that body and with parliamentary usages. In 
church assemblies he spoke extemporaneously, yet with 
such dignity and deliberation, such clearness and earnest- 
ness, that his views almost universally prevailed. 

His calm and deliberate judgment, his strong, practical 
common sense, his thorough knowledge of the polity and 
laws of the church made him a valued counsellor. In 
recognition of these qualities and of his eminent standing 
in his church, he was appointed as the chairman or a 
member of many special committees of the General Assem- 
bly. 

In 1870 he was chairman of the committee to secure 
from the legislature of New York such legislation as was 
rendered necessary by the Reunion. In 1871 he was on 
the committee on ' ' Representation in the General As- 
sembly." 

He served on committees in 1875 and again in 1888 to 
secure closer fraternal relations and cooperation with the 
Southern Church. He was a member of a committee from 
the Presbyterian Church to confer with a like committee 
from the Reformed Church in regard to the desirableness 
and practicability of union between the two Churches. 

By the General Assembly of 1879 he was made the 
chairman of the committee on the ' ' Reorganization of the 
Synods of the Church." To this important work he gave 
much time and labor. Their report, recommending the 



3i 

enlarging of the synods so as to make their boundaries 
conterminous with those of the States, and also enlarging 
their functions and powers, was adopted by the General 
Assembly of the following year, and the overtures con- 
tained in the report ordered to be transmitted to the Pres- 
byteries for their approval. A majority of the Presbyteries 
answered them in the affirmative, and this great change in 
the constitution of the Church was made. 

He served on the committee " Upon the Relations of the 
Board of Home Missions to the Presbyteries" in 1881, and 
in 1882 on that upon "Education," which resulted in the 
establishment of the "Board of Aid for Colleges." He 
declined an appointment as a member of the committee 
having in charge the revision of the Book of Discipline. 

By appointment of the New School Assembly of 1 868 he 
presented the plan of Reunion to the Old School Assembly, 
then in session at Albany. This duty he performed in a 
speech of great eloquence and power, and the report was 
adopted by the Assembly. He was heartily in favor of 
the Reunion and did much to bring it about. In 1872 he 
was made a delegate to the Free Church of Scotland. In 
many other positions of honor and trust he rendered valu- 
able services to his Church. In 1881 he received its 
highest gift in his election as Moderator of the General As- 
sembly. 

As a man, Henry Darling exemplified in all his life, pub- 
lic and private, whatever we associate ideally with the 
grand old name of "gentleman," a name in his case never 
" sullied with an ignoble use," but lifted up, refined, sancti- 
fied by the Spirit of Christ. A deep, yet always present 
and practical Christian, faith hallowed all his powers; the 
light that shone from his daily life was eminently such as 
would lead men to glorify our Father who is in heaven. 



32 

He was the honored and loved center of a large family 
circle, and it was here that his lovely Christian character 
showed itself in its greatest beauty. To carry out his 
slightest wish, to minister to his every want, was regarded as 
the highest privilege by everyone of his family. 

It was while actively engaged in the discharge of his 
college work, in the maturity of his intellectual powers, at 
a time when he had begun to see the good results of his 
labors for the institution, and the future seemed so bright 
that he was suddenly called from earth to heaven. 

Calmly and gently he passed away surrounded by all 
those who were the dearest to him on earth, commending 
them to the care of Him whom he had so faithfully 
served. 



THE FUNERAL OBSEQUIES. 

The funeral of President Darling was held Thursday 
morning, from his late residence on College Hill. The at- 
tendance was very large, including relatives and friends, 
the faculty, students and many of the trustees. The ser- 
vices were in charge of Rev. Dr. Thos. B. Hudson, pastor of 
the Stone Church, who read the Scriptures and offered the 
opening prayer. Tender and beautiful music was furnished 
by a quartet of students, consisting of Messrs. Edwards, 
Kelly, Wouters ond Smithling. The address by Rev. Dr. 
T. Ralston Smith, of Buffalo, was a tender tribute to the 
life, public and private, of the deceased. He said, that as 
a friend, not as historian or biographer, he had come to 
briefly speak of Dr. Darling in his capacity as pastor, col- 
lege president, and the head of the family. He would 
leave it for some more fitting time and place to speak more 
in detail of the busy life of the departed. His address was 
an eloquent one, and the many present listened with much 
feeling to the warm words spoken of the beloved president. 
The closing prayer by Rev. William R. Terrett, was a 



33 

touching invocation for blessing on the family, friends, col- 
lege and community. A delegation, consisting of the pas- 
tor and session of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of 
Albany, were present to escort the body to Albany, for in- 
terment. The bearers were P. V. Rogers, C. C. Kingsley 
and Rev. Dr. R. L. Bachman, of Utica; Professor E. North, 
E. J. Hamilton and Oren Root, of the faculty; H. B. 
Silliman, of Cohoes, and James McKinney, of Albany. 



THE FUNERAL IN ALBANY. 

After a short service in Clinton, the body of Dr. Darling 
was conveyed to Utica and placed on the train for Albany, 
where it arrived at about 4 o'clock. The funeral party 
was escorted from the depot to his old church by the Rev. 
Dr. Raymond and the members of the session, where a 
brief service was held. Opportunity was then given his 
old time parishoners and friends to view for the last time 
the face so much endeared to them; after which the re- 
mains were taken to the Rural Cemetery. 



DR. SMITH'S ADDRESS. 

At the funeral of the late Rev. Henry Darling, D. D.,. 
LL. D., president of Hamilton College, held at the presi- 
dent's house on College Hill, Clinton, April 23, 1891, Rev. 
T. Ralston Smith, D. D. , of Buffalo, spoke as follows : 

My place here is not that of the historian or of the biog- 
rapher, but of the friend. A more fitting time may come 
for commemorating the official character and the public 
services of our departed brother, when personal sorrow 
shall be mitigated and the largeness of the opportunity 
shall be commensurate with the theme ; but to-day, if I 
may venture to interpret your feelings by my own, we are 
thinking not so much of the loss of the man of letters, the 
theologian and the college president, as of the loss of Henry 
Darling, the man, as we knew him and loved him and found 
in him by personal contact those qualities which, in all 
keen estimates of human character and worth, count for 
far more than genius and talent and the creations of favor- 
able circumstances. 

Yet were this other theme by any ruling of propriety my 
own, I should congratulate myself and you on its richness. 
In the life of Dr. Darling industry, fidelity and honor have 
kept pace with each other. If his career has been free 
from meteoric flashes, it has had that better quality which 
belongs to the steady shining of the sun, and like that sun, 
the warmth of it is felt even after its going down. 

I recall, with a tender interest, what I used to hear 
when I was little more than a boy, of the character and 
the influence of Judge Darling, a figure of more than a 
common note in a church which can complain of no poverty 
in its list of strong and noble names. It was in the soil of 
a good home, and through the sanctified training of an il- 
lustrious parentage, that the qualities were nurtured which, 
in their ripeness, have given us the rich personality of the 
dear friend for whom we are mourning to-day. Impressive 
without being intrusive, dignified without being distant or 
cold, courtly without effusiveness, devout without the taint 
of sanctimoniousness, he has filled every position and exe- 
cuted every task with a grace so gentle and yet so effectual, 
that it is no extravagance to say of him, ' Nil tetigit quod 
non ornavit." 



35 

In his early pastorate at Hudson, N. Y., he gave imme- 
diate promise of the worthy future that was before him. 
Transferred to the wider and more difficult field opened to 
him by the Clinton Street Church in Philadelphia, where 
he followed that noble son of Hamilton and my honored 
father, Dr. Joel Parker, his growing power attested his 
fitness for a place whose accumulating tasks and responsi- 
bilities called for equal discretion, piety and force. Then 
came those eighteen bright and prolific years in Albany, of 
whose ability and devotion the flourishing Fourth Church 
is the abiding and honorable monument ; a church in whose 
inmost life and heart his memory is cherished with affec- 
tion, and from whose history the mark of his strong hand 
cannot easily be obliterated. 

It was a revolution in his mode of life when from this 
long and steady experience in the beloved work of the 
ministry he obeyed the call which placed him at the head of 
Hamilton College, to whose service the best ten years of 
his life have been given with a zeal and consecration which 
only they can adequately measure who had the privilege, 
in the best intimacy of friendship, of knowing his heart. 

Of the magnitude and the perplexities of this task I need 
not speak. I love to recall just now his patient devotion, 
his broad sympathies, his refined and honorable ambition, 
his eloquent appeals for the higher education, his accord 
with the traditions and spirit of the institution, and the 
generous sacrifices which he was always ready to make in 
its behalf, and which yet were made so quietly and unos- 
tentatiously, that few beyond the circle of those who were 
nearest to him could ever have known the real heroism 
which lay beneath his quiet and placid exterior. 

It adds to our sorrow just now, after all these years of 
hard toil; at the moment when the prospects of Hamilton 
College are higher than ever before; when its coffers are to 
be more richly laden; when its brilliant faculty is to have 
wider scope; when the trustees are to find their task more 
congenial; when College Hill, " beautiful for situation," is 
to eclipse its former glories, and the true hearts of Hamil- 
ton alumni are to be prouder than ever of their alma mater ; 
the brave spirit that has hoped and toiled and prayed for 
the time which he knew would come, has suddenly grown 
still in the very dawn of this better day. This is one of 
these mysteries which perplex us sorely. Our wisdom 
would order events in such fashion that the soldier should 
never put off his armor until the victory was won, and that 



36 

every toiler should taste the sweetness of rest in the field 
where he has wrought. But God's wisdom, inscrutable as 
it often is, has its higher ways, its loftier ends, its richer 
recompenses. There is here a great legacy of sorrow and 
disappointment left to us. But let us not imagine that 
there is either sorrow or disappointment to him who has 
laid down his task so soon. That life surely has seemed 
rounded out in the sight of God. It has had its commen- 
dation, " Well done thou good and faithful servant," and 
the fruit of its sowing will be linked to it where vision is 
clearer and judgments are surer than they can be on earth, 
and all the hidden worth and beauty shall be revealed in 
the perfect light. 

Amidst the cares of service, however, our beloved friend 
was not left without marked evidences of the high esteem 
in which he was held as a scholar and a Christian minister. 
Crowned with the academic honors of Union, Hamilton and 
Lafayette, he was entrusted by his church with the respon- 
sible duties of permanent clerk of its General Assembly; 
an office which he worthily discharged for ten years, as the 
successor of the beloved Gilbert, and laid down, as I well 
remember, of his own accord, out of his keen sense of 
honor and delicacy on removing from the city as whose 
representative he had been chosen to the position. In 
1 88 1, in my own city of Buffalo, the Assembly conferred 
upon him its highest distinction by electing him as its 
Moderator a dignity which he bore with grace and adorned 
by the able service which he rendered. 

These are but hints of the history which is to be 
more fully and worthily written, as I trust, and which can 
be enriched by many a detail from his literary and profes- 
sional career. It will be worth pondering, not only by the 
friends who must prize every beautiful memorial of the life 
whose development they have watched, but by those who 
can appreciate and apply its lesson, learning from it how 
usefulness and honor can be reached by modes consistent 
with the sobriety of a Christian spirit. The young men 
who have sat in Dr. Darling's class-room, or communed 
with him in his study, or enjoyed his kindly hospitality, 
will value and treasure his influence over them more from 
this hour than ever before. But if they would feel the 
power of what he wished and strove to give them, they 
must try to measure and appreciate his inner self, and to 
imbibe the lesson of his entire life. He being dead, yet 
speaketh. And his best praise will be the beautiful lives 



37 

whose impulses will ever be traced back to the inspiration 
which he helped to enkindle within them. 

And so it is that we instinctly come back to Henry Dar- 
ling himself. Stripping off academic robes, official titles and 
symbols of authority, we come down to the core of what he 
was — the heart of the friend, the husband, the father, the 
Christian. Any greatness that is outside of these sacred 
limits and is built up without reference to them, is of little 
worth indeed. It is by the homely side rather than by the 
brilliant side, that lives are truly to be tested. Love sees 
to profounder depths than mere admiration, and the little 
flower it lays on the pillow of the dead is a richer decora- 
tion than a jeweled coronet. 

So I find myself thinking of those great numbers whose 
tears he wiped away, whose fainting spirits he encouraged, 
whose perplexities he resolved, whose footsteps he guided, 
whose eyes he lifted heavenward, — some of them back 
yonder in those loved fields of bygone labor; some of them 
here, yet feeling the touch of his vanished hand, — and all 
of them, whether in the better land or this, venerating and 
blessing his memory. 

Most of all, my heart turns to that family circle, of 
which he was the central figure, and whose sorrow, deep, 
but serene and tranquil, mutely waits for the tribute of our 
gentle sympathy. The thoughts with which their hearts 
are busy are not of honors won out yonder in the field of 
strife, but rather of those qualities which endeared him in 
the home — after all the best and noblest of earthly king- 
doms — the only one besides the church whose institution is 
directly divine. How royally he reigned there, with the 
dignity which was part of him, with the gentleness which 
was also a part of him; and no monarch ever had readier 
or more willing tribute laid at his feet. You and I have 
seen and known him, with his loved ones about him. And 
we can understand how their grief overtops every other 
sentiment awakened by this bereavement, and must give 
the chief direction to our thoughts and prayers. 

What this community has lost in the death of a broad- 
minded citizen; what the church has lost in this son of hers 
who was so wise in counsel and efficient in action; what 
Hamilton College has lost in this friend and promoter of 
the finest intellectual and moral training, it is not easy to 
compute. We see the gap which his taking off has left; and 
as respects the college, I think we shall feel a common im- 
pulse, trustees, professors and students, under the shadow 



38 

of this chastening, to seek God's blessing anew upon our 
work and to push on to the realization of the best ideal which 
our lamented president has formed. 

But above all, our prayer is that the comfort which he 
ministered to others may be the portion of this sorrowing 
household; that the Saviour whom he followed may be the 
light of that home on which this shadow has fallen so 
deeply; and that these mourning ones may be sustained 
and filled with the peace which passes all understanding. 
A noble heart has stood still, the volume of a good life has 
been closed, the laborer has passed from the field of toil to 
the mansion of the Divine Master; and even in our tears 
we thank God, feeling that the world is better, and we are 
better, because the life of Henry Darling has touched the 
world and us. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 

PREACHED SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 26, BY THE REV. A. V. V. RAY- 
MOND, D. D., PASTOR OF THE FOURTH PRESBYTE- 
RIAN CHURCH, ALBANY, N. Y. 

" For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ. 
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay 
stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day snail declare it be- 
cause it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what 
sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath builded thereon he shall receive 
a reward."— I Corinthians iii: n-14. 

Paul is writing about ministers and their relation to be- 
lievers. It is not necessary to follow the argument by 
which he leads to the conclusion, ' * Therefore let no man 
glory in men, for all things are yours whether Paul or 
Apollos or Cephas, and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's. " 
It is not necessary, because with us there is no contro- 
versy about names, no factional rivalry or jealously, 
no depreciation of others in the respect and love 
which all bear to that servant of Christ whose memory 
unites our hearts this morning in grateful praise to God 
who used him so manifestly for the glory of His own holy 
name. We might indeed dwell without invidious refer- 
ence upon the distinctive character of the ministry which 
each pastor renders. No one can repeat the work of an- 
other. Gifts differ and so must the services which spring 
from them. God meant it to be so. Paul plants and 
Appollos waters. The work of one is supplementary to 
that of another, and each waits upon the blessing of God 
for the increase of righteousness. To me this is an ever 
present and inspiring truth. Every day I am made con- 
scious of the abundant labors of those who preceded me 
in this ministry. In a most real sense I am only building 
upon foundations already laid, watering the seed planted 
in days gone by, developing the life of this church along 
lines previously determined. This church is what it is to- 
day far more because of what other pastors have done 
than because of what I have been permitted to do, and I 
cannot praise God enough for the vigorous spirituality 
which I found existing here when I came ; and if I say 



40 

this was due more to the ministry of Dr. Darling than to 
that of any other, it is in no sense a disparagement of any 
man's work, but only a recognition of the necessary in- 
fluence of his long and faithful pastorate, at a time when 
the character and spiritual convictions of those who are 
to-day naturally foremost in our church life became fixed. 
And so I love to have you dwell as you do upon his serv- 
ices with grateful appreciation and affection; the legacy he 
has left is our joint inheritance. Your debt of gratitude 
to his ministry cannot be greater than mine, although with 
you personal feeling necessarily runs deeper, because he 
touched your lives directly. But after all, the profoundest 
blessing of his ministry appears in the impress he left upon 
the life of the church. That will abide when personal rec- 
ollections have ceased. And because of this all who love 
this church and rejoice in its work, from those who have 
received most of its influence to those who have 
but recently come into fellowship, are moved by a common 
impulse to honor the memory of the man of God, who has 
been called to his heavenly home since last we met for 
morning worship in this place, consecrated by his prayers 
and labors of love. 

Before referring more directly to Dr. Darling's ministry 
here, and that we may better appreciate it, let us dwell for 
a moment upon the truth which Paul puts before us in our 
text. As we have said, he is speaking of the work of the 
ministerial office, but like every great spiritual principle 
that which he here advances is capable of general appli- 
cation, and so it brings instruction to every one of us who 
would make the most of his life. The figure used by the 
apostle to impress the thought of the Spirit is drawn from 
one of the most familiar occupations — building. And the 
truth thus illustrated has special reference to the principle 
of rewards. ' ' If any man's work abides which he has 
built he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall 
be burned he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved 
yet so as by fire." 

A distinction should always be made between the mere 



4i 

fact of personal salvation and the recompense of a man's 
labors; between simple admission to the kingdom of 
Heaven and what is called in scripture ' ' an abundant 
entrance." I am convinced that in many minds this dis- 
tinction is blurred chiefly because of false ideas upon the 
subject of human merit. Good words are discounted in 
our religion. God owes us nothing and we can never put 
him under obligations. This may be good theology, 
but it is poor Christianity. Righteousness counts for 
something in the kingdom of God. Salvation is eternal 
life and is a gift, but the measure of our enjoyment of it 
is an honest payment. It is true that we are saved by 
divine grace, but it is also true that we are rewarded by 
divine justice. The faith principle makes us God's children, 
but the work principle makes us his rich children. There 
are degrees of enrichment in the household of faith. We 
do not exhaust the meaning of riches and poverty by re- 
ducing it to a money basis. There is wealth not deter- 
mined by the rate of interest on government bonds, and it 
depends upon the laws of trade, like the wealth that is 
spelled "gold." 

God endows no life with spiritual treasures. He gives 
the Spirit, but makes man earn its treasures. That is the 
meaning of the parable of the pounds. The word l ' busi- 
ness " belongs to the terminology of religion, and perhaps 
the great trouble with most Christians is that their phrase- 
ology is limited to the word ' ' gift " whenever they attempt 
to express their spiritual expectations. They are waiting 
for God to bestow what in his sovereignty He thinks best, 
without any thought that they can win something for them- 
selves. The gift of God is the same to every man who 
will receive it — eternal life — but beyond that everything is 
determined upon merit. Life is one thing; what it accom- 
plishes is quite another thing. And so good works count 
after all in the economy of grace. There is no respect of 
persons with God, but there is respect of personal faithful- 
ness in doing His will. There can be no faithfulness with- 
out faith, but there can be faith without faithfulness, and 



42 

if Christ taught anything it is that the measure of our 
faithfulness is the measure of our blessedness. 

Surely it is not necessary for me in this presence to say 
that our reference to the rewards of the kingdom is not 
put in the future tense altogether. God pays quickly as 
well as justly. Indeed there is no justice in withholding 
payments. Every man gets at once what he earns. This 
makes all the diversity in spiritual possessions on earth. 
No loving deed was ever done that did not make the soul 
richer for doing it. Every talent increases by use. The 
loving word leaves music in the heart of him who utters it. 
The real blessing begins after all in ourselves, the develop- 
ment of a Christ-like spirit; this is imperishable treasure. 
The kingdom of heaven is within us. At the same time 
every good deed has a potentiality which projects its in- 
fluence into the future. Like a safe investment, it keeps 
on returning dividends, multiplying itself as the years pass; 
this makes the reward of the future: " Blessed are the 
dead which die in the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit, they 
do rest from their labors and their works do follow them. " 
The thoughts we inspire, the lives we redeem, are per- 
manent forces set at work, and in the day of revelation all 
that they accomplish brings a return of gladness to our 
souls. This is why we say eternity alone can measure the 
influence exerted by any man. And so, in the fullest sense, 
it becomes the time of reward. No one's work is known 
to-day in its entirety, nor can it be known, because it has 
not ceased, though he himself has passed from earth. 
Verily, " their works do follow them." 

All these truths are brought before us under the figure 
of our text. It draws a sharp distinction between salva- 
tion and reward. A man himself may be saved without 
inheriting any reward for his labors. That depends upon 
the permanent nature of his work. Gold, silver, precious 
stones; wood, hay, stubble. What are these but types of 
enduring value on the one hand and transient worth on the 
other? And the fact that Paul is speaking of ministerial 
labor only emphasizes the sphere of activity of our lives. 



43 

The thought which he urges is this: Rewards are con- 
ditioned upon the nature of the influence which one exerts 
upon others. If his work is simply pleasing, entertaining, 
gratifying to taste; if he contributes nothing of a permanent 
character that will stand the test of suffering through 
which every soul must pass, then all his labor is lost. 
Wood, hay, stubble. How aptly do these represent the 
ephemeral nature of our influence — vain words, light 
thoughts, superficial acts of helpfulness, pleasing in the 
sunlight, but worthless in the hour of trial. How much 
of our activity, even in the name of the Lord, results in 
nothing more than a show of usefulness; teaching that 
skims the surface of truth; deeds that carry nothing of our 
hearts with them, touching only the outside of life; per- 
functory deeds answering the demands of propriety, obey- 
ing the laws established by custom. All this is vain as a 
basis of spiritual rewards. The satisfaction thus begotten, 
the fair reputation thus easily won, are of the earth earthy, 
and have no eternal meaning. But "gold, silver, precious 
stones," what suggestiveness of reality, of enduring worth 
in these. They tell of rich truth communicated; of deeds 
that in their inherent power of blessing build themselves 
into character, and transform life, contributing something 
of God's own energy to soul; of ministr}^ instinct with the 
spirit of divine love. These are labors whose return is not 
merely a word of compliment, an ephemeral fame, but 
deep spiritual joy, and gratitude that pays its tribute of 
praise forever — in lives ennobled, in influences that never 
cease their transforming and uplifting power. This is re- 
ward heavenly; alike in its nature and in its extent. 

And this is the reward which was the inheritance in 
time and is now, the increasing inheritance in eternity of 
him whose memory we to-day honor, for the ministry of 
Dr. Darling was in the truest sense the building of gold 
and silver and precious stones in the structure of other 
lives, a permanent power for righteousness, the source of 
abiding good for many souls. 

Of his work in general, through a ministry of nearly 



44 

fifty years, we may not now speak. However gratifying it 
might be to review his whole life, it is beyond our purpose 
at this time. Some other occasion would be better suited 
to such a tribute, for our thought must naturally dwell 
upon his labors here, surrounded as we are by the more 
manifest evidences of his consecrated service. This church 
must ever be to us his best memorial. But how shall we 
translate his ministry among us into words that will rightly 
express its worth? How can we analyze his power? How 
may we characterize his usefulness? It is difficult to say 
in what way he appeals most strongly to our reverent re- 
gard. Was it his life or his words that made the deepest 
impression? His ministry in your homes or his ministry 
in this pulpit? 

As a preacher his name became widely known during 
his pastorate in Albany; but pulpit fame is not equivalent 
to pulpit power in the spiritual sense. The best sermons 
are not the most popular. Depth of influence does not de- 
pend upon pleasing effects. Lives are not molded by 
what people say of a minister, but what God says through 
him. Dr. Darling's commanding presence was in itself a 
call to attention. His refined and beautifully expressive 
face held the eye of the hearer — a charm which was never 
lost by familiarity. His sympathetic voice pronounced as 
it first fell upon the ear, a loving message. Whatever 
truth he was to proclaim one felt indistinctively it would 
be spoken in love. These, however, were but adjuncts to 
his real power. 

That was found in his spiritual conception, his under- 
standing of the deep things of God, not merely the intel- 
lectually deep but the spiritually deep; those things which 
are revealed rather than learned by investigation. And 
yet he was tireless in study. There was a painstaking 
care in his preparations for the pulpit which told of his 
reverence for the place — his profound sense of responsibil- 
ity. He brought beaten oil into the sanctuary. He had 
no idea of honoring God save by the full use of all his 
talents, but everything must be tributary to the truths he 



45 

preached. If he adorned his sermons it was only as the 
lily work on the top of the pillars. Strength was crowned 
with beauty, not sacrified to it. And so it was that his 
preaching had power. Whereof the witness is not to be 
found in any printed discourses left to us, nor yet in the 
testimony of loving lips, but rather in the thoughts and 
purposes and characters begotten of it. Frederick Robert- 
son's definition of effective preaching can not easily be im- 
proved. "Changed lives." By that test Dr. Darling's 
beginning, the spiritual vigor of this church to-day is due 
under God to his teaching of the word. He magnified the 
truth, and the truth in turn magnifies his work. The ex- 
perience of one given so lovingly at our weekly meeting is 
the experience of many. ' ' He brought me from under the 
bondage of the law into the glorious liberty of the children 
of God. " A further witness of his power in pressing upon 
human hearts the claims of God's love appears in the 
growth of practical beneficence during his ministry. In 
looking over the statistical record of the church I find that 
almost at the beginning of his pastorate the missionary 
contributions were doubled and a steady increase was 
maintained through many years. We are reaping to-day 
the results of those early instructions. In this he builded 
well and for enduring usefulness. The large-hearted 
beneficence in these later years for which we so devoutly 
praise God, has its root in the faithful teachings of this 
servant of Christ, or if we must go still further back for its 
beginning even to the ministry of the saintly Kirk, still it 
was Dr. Darling who more than any other nourished it 
into vigorous life and fruitfulness. A single fact which to 
me speaks volumes for his fidelity is that the cost of erect- 
ing this church which in three years drew more than one 
hundred thousand dollars from the people, did not diminish 
the beneficence of the church along other lines. 

I had thought to speak of this building as his monument, 
but, after all, it is a material thing, and as such is not 
among the gold and silver and precious stones that shall 
abide an enduring testimonial to his faithfulness. In so 



4 6 

far, however, as this tells of sacrifice, of labors of love, of 
consecrated offerings inspired by his words, it becomes a 
lasting memorial, for those who thus gave were enriched. 
In their unselfishness and growth in grace we find the true 
spiritual meaning of the erection of this house of worship. 

Thus far our thoughts have dwelt upon his ministry in 
this place which, while it stands, will be sacred to his 
memory. 

It may be questioned, however, if his labors here were 
more abundantly useful than those which were known only 
in the privacy of your homes, in personal fellowship with 
you as pastor and friend. Of these many of you can not 
speak without grateful tears. His strong and loving per- 
sonality bent itself to your individual needs and lifted you 
toward God in hours when you thought the Father had 
forsaken you. There was a depth of sympathy in his na- 
ture which never failed to bring comfort to sorrowing homes 
and strength to fainting hearts. He carried your burdens. 
No trouble that weighed down any spirit was insignificant 
to him. In this he interpreted Christ to you as otherwise 
he could not have done. His very face seemed to bring a 
benediction as he looked tenderly into yours. There was 
a restfulness in his presence that made his coming like a 
visit from your Lord, and indeed it was, for this ministry 
of comfort was possible only as Christ reigned in him. It 
was the spirit of the Master that looked out of those eyes 
and touched the voice with such compassion. Is not this 
the true meaning of Christianity, not merely to repeat His 
words, but to incarnate His spirit ? It was thus going 
about doing good that Dr. Darling rendered his most ef- 
fective service and built most for eternity. 

Of his influence upon the life of this city we may not 
speak. It was natural that such a man should be sought 
in counsel and that his work should extend beyond the 
limits of his own congregation. It may be confidently as- 
serted that while here no man contributed more to every 
righteous cause for the public good. For the same reason 
his labors in the church at large were abundant and claimed 



47 

universal recognition. In the language of the resolutions 
adopted this week by the Presbytery of Albany : ' ' He im- 
pressed all with an inherent right to respect and reverent 
regard. Every place of honor in the gift of his brethren 
seemed to belong to him and was never withheld. He 
dignified every official station, discharging the most exalted 
duties with exceptional grace and unquestioned ability. As 
Moderator of the General Assembly, he realized the ideas 
of a courteous and wise executive, while in every great 
cause to which he gave his services he was a recognized 
leader." 

From this church he passed into still more public ser- 
vice, as the president of an old, an honored institution of 
learning. There he was no less faithful and no less help- 
ful, and there his labor on earth ended and God gave him 
rest. To-day he is singing his praises with a great multi- 
tude who through him first learned to worship God, and 
with still other souls who through him found a closer walk 
with God. We believe in the communion of saints. 

4 ' If any man's work abide which he has built, he shall 
receive a reward." 



EDITORIAL PRESS NOTICES. 



From the Utica Herald, April 21, 1891. 

Death of President Darling of Hamilton 
College. 

Yesterday morning, when the faculty and students of 
Hamilton College assembled in the chapel, the unusual 
hush betokened a genuine sorrow in all hearts. At three 
o'clock Monday morning, after a painful illness of six days, 
President Henry Darling closed his earnest, toilsome, be- 
neficent life of sixty-seven years. 

The son of an eminent jurist of Pennsylvania, Dr. Henry 
Darling was born in Reading, Pa., Dec. 27, 1823. In 1838, 
he united with the First Presbyterian Church in Reading, 
and was graduated from Amherst College in 1842. In 
theological studies he was a student of Union and Auburn 
Seminaries, and was graduated from Auburn in 1845. 
His first sermons were preached in the Presbyterian Church 
in Vernon village. 

In December, 1846, he was ordained and installed in 
Hudson, where his first pastorate ceased in 1852. From 
1853 to 1 861 he was pastor of the Clinton Street Presby- 
terian Church in Philadelphia. After two years of rest, he 
accepted a call to the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Albany, 
where Rev. Dr. Henry Mandeville, and President Samuel 
W. Fisher had preceded him in the same office. This pas- 
torate he held until his election to the presidency of Hamil- 
ton College in 1 88 1. In May, 1881, he was elected Moder- 
ator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, 
and presided at its meeting in Buffalo. He also preached 
the opening sermon at the meeting of the General Assembly 
in 1882. 

Dr. Darling's transition from the duties of a pastor to 
those of a college president was made with a careful, prayer- 
ful estimate of its difficulties, and with results that fully at- 
test his intellectual gifts, his wisdom and devotion to a 
high standard of Christian education. For ten years his 
ruling purpose has been to strengthen the working forces of 
Hamilton College, and enlarge its good influence. 



49 

In length of service his place is the fourth in the list of 
eight presidents of Hamilton College, all of whom are now 
dead. He is the second president whose death has occurred 
while in office. Rev. Dr. Azel Backus, the first president, 
died Dec. 28, 18 16, in the house now occupied by Cornelius 
De Regt. 

Dr. Darling's last sermon was preached in the College 
Chapel, April 12, on the text from John xix : 20 : "It was 
written in Hebrew, and in Greek and in Latin." 

Dr. Darling was one of the trustees of Auburn Theologi- 
cal Seminary, and had planned to attend its next commence- 
ment in May. Among his published works are, ' ' The 
Closer Walk," "Christian Unity," "Doing Nothing but 
Receiving, " ' ' Conformity to the World, " with many pamph- 
lets, sermons and addresses. Dr. Darling received the 
degree of D. D. from Union College in i860 ; and the de- 
gree of LL. D. both from La Fayette College and Hamilton 
College in 1881. 

Dr. Darling was married to Miss Ophelia Wells, of 
Hudson, N. Y., April 29, 1853. He was the father of two 
sons and seven daughters, one of whom is a student in 
Wells College and another a student in Smith College. His 
sons are Richard W. Darling, a graduate of Amherst, and 
Henry Darling, Jr., a graduate of Hamilton, both lawyers 
in Utica. 



From Utica Press, April 21, 1892. 

The Deafh of Dr. Darling. 

The community was startled yesterday by the announce- 
ment that Rev. Dr. Henry Darling, president of Hamilton 
College, was dead. He had been ill a few days, but until 
the end was close at hand nothing serious was expected. 
Though nearly seventy, his health and strength were such 
that his family and friends had good reason for believing 
that many years of usefulness were yet before him. In this 
immediate community he was comparatively a stranger, for 
his college duties left him little time to extend his acquaint- 
ance. He was known in this city by reputation rather than 
personally, but those who had met him were favorably im- 
pressed. It lacks a few months of ten years since he as- 
sumed the presidency of Hamilton College. His work in 
that capacity has been faithful and zealous. He had the 



5o 

interests of the institution at heart and devoted to his duty 
his best efforts. 

First and preeminently Dr. Darling was a Presbyterian 
clergyman, and in that denomination he acquired an en- 
viable prominence. His pastoral service extended over a. 
long period, and was particularly successful. He was. 
popular both as preacher and pastor, and won the regard 
of his parishioners and the people among whom he labored. 
The Presbyterian Church honored him in its councils, and 
he took high rank in its ministry. It was .his prominence 
as a Presbyterian which suggested his name in connection 
with the presidency of Hamilton College. There was a 
proposition to more thoroughly identify the institution with 
that church, and in return the church was to generously 
endow the college, and the union, it was thought, would be 
mutually advantageous. Dr. Darling was chosen president 
as being a man whom the church honored and who had the 
executive ability to manage a great undertaking, combined 
with the scholarship to fill the highest place in the college 
faculty. He entered upon his work with great earnestness, 
and by his personal effort secured promises of substantial 
aid. 

One of Dr. Darling's most prominent characteristics was 
his dignity. Of commanding presence and easy bearing, 
his appearance was always impressive and his manner 
courteous. He was a strong writer and made a logical 
argument. Many of his sermons gave evidence of careful 
study and extensive reading. Coming from a pastorate of 
over thirty years, it was a difficult task to at once take up 
the presidency of a college and turn his attention from the 
ministry to the management and education of young men. 
Few, if any, could have done it better than Dr. Darling. 
While always a scholar, he had given no thought to teach- 
ing till put at the head of one of the best colleges in the 
country. The responsibility of the situation was great, and 
to the discharge of its duties he devoted his best energies. 
Under his administration Hamilton College has been pros- 
perous and has seen many marked improvements. The 
curriculum has been made more liberal and elastic, new 
buildings erected and old ones repaired. To Dr. Darling it 
owes much for his activity and energy in its behalf. He 
was a man whose circle of friends and acquaintances was 
large and influential. He was a man who will be missed 
by the college and by the Presbyterian Church. 



5i 

From the Utica Observer. 

lienry Darling, D. D., LL. D. 

The death of Henry Darling, president of Hamilton Col- 
lege, is an event that will be deeply deplored by the legion 
of friends of that institution, by the citizens among whom 
he dwelt, and by all who admire the noble qualities of the 
typical educator of men. He was only 68 years of age, and 
until recently many years of usefulness had been expected 
of him. He was a native of Reading, Pa. , and in early man- 
hood he received an admirable training for the duties which 
he assumed in later years. A graduate of Amherst, he after- 
wards pursued his theological studies at Union Seminary in 
New York city, and at the Auburn Seminary. As a Pres- 
byterian minister, he was in charge successively of churches 
in Vernon and Hudson, N. Y. , in Philadelphia and in Al- 
bany. He resigned from the pastorship of the Fourth 
Presbyterian Church, in Albany, in 1881, to assume the 
presidency of Hamilton College. 

The more responsible charge was a congenial one to a 
man of Dr. Darling's culture, dignity of intellectual habits 
and zeal in the cause of education, and his new duties fitted 
him well. His true and exemplary life and his pleasant 
and hospitable home bound to him many friends beyond 
the circle of collegians, and from the latter he commanded 
respect and affection. He was an unselfish and earnest 
laborer in the vineyard of the Master, and the fruits of his 
efforts will remain a speaking tribute to his care and up- 
lifting influence and example. 



From the Rome Sentinel, April 20, 1891. 

Dr. Henry Darling. 

The third time within a year has death entered the faculty 
circle of Hamilton College and removed one of her hon- 
ored instructors. Last summer the community was shocked 
at the sudden death of Dr. Peters ; less than three weeks 
ago Professor Kelsey passed away, and now comes the 
announcement of the death of the president of the college. 
It would seem that truly misfortunes never come singly. 

Dr. Darling was a scholar in every sense of the term. 
He had a comprehensive mind, and was a man of very 
broad culture. In the pulpit, in the class room, or in the 



52 

councils of the institution of which he was the head, the 
same high intellectual characteristics were always displayed. 
When he left Albany in 1881, to take his place as president 
of Hamilton College, his departure was sincerely regretted 
by those whose pastor he had been, but the loss to them 
was a gain to the institution whose affairs he was called 
upon to direct. 

During his ten years incumbency as president, one of his 
chief aims was to elevate the moral tone of the college, and 
to that end many changes were brought about. Many of 
the college customs and traditions that were hardly to be 
commended have fallen into disuse. He, with his associ- 
ates, strove to give the institution the most advanced 
methods of instruction and the past ten years have seen 
important changes in the curriculum. During most of the 
time the institution has labored under the disadvantage of 
a lack of finances, but he was always active in efforts to 
recuperate them. Many a scholarship and many a contribu- 
tion is the result of his personal solicitation, and to him 
and other members of the faculty are due the present im- 
proved financial prospects of the college. His nature was 
generous and many a needy student thanks him for the as- 
sistance which has enabled that student to complete a col- 
lege course. 

Of him it can truly be said that the world is better for 
his having been in it. His life was characterized by habits 
of exhaustive study. He had self-controlled enthusiasm in 
the best things ; he had shown wisdom in the control and 
direction of powerful churches and had been a leader of 
men. 



From the Boonville Herald. 



Hamilton College losses a faithful friend arid official by 
the death of its honored president, Rev. Henry Darling, 
D. D., LL. D. His death was sudden and unexpected and 
can hardly be realized by the friends and students of that 
institution. He was a man of rare intellect and ability, a 
thorough scholar and capable of filling positions of highest 
honor. His place will be filled with difficulty in the col- 
lege, which in a short time has lost by death three of its 
faculty. 



53 

Frooa the Albany Argus. 

The Rev. Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D., president of 
Hamilton College, and formerly pastor of the Fourth 
Presbyterian Church of this city, died at Clinton yesterday. 

During the eighteen years of his pastorate at the Fourth 
church Dr. Darling had the cooperation and love of his 
congregation. Standing six feet two, perfectly erect, a 
man of fine physique, with strong, intellectual face and 
wavy hair, his appearance was striking to a degree and 
never failed to impress one deeply. He was eloquent. 
There was much personal magnetism about him. He was 
always an object of attention on the street, even in 
crowded New York, by his stately and dignified demeanor. 
While he was highly successful as a writer and preacher, 
he was also a thorough worker. He had been here only 
two years when the old building of the Fourth Church was 
torn down, and the new edifice erected. The Church flour- 
ished as it never had before, and it is now one of the 
most prosperous in the city. Since he was called to the 
presidency of Hamilton, the college advanced steadily. 
He was one of the most popular clergymen among all de- 
nominations Albany has ever had. He has preached here 
frequently during the last ten years, and was to have oc- 
cupied the pulpit of his old church again for a few Sun- 
days during the summer. 



From the New York Evangelist. 

Death of President Darling. 

Another well-known figure disappears from view in the 
sudden death of the Rev. Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D., 
an event wholly unexpected, for we did not hear of his illness 
until we heard that he was no more. It was a sharp at- 
tack of bronchitis that laid its hand upon him, and did its 
work so swiftly, that in a few days he breathed his last at 
his home in Clinton, where he had lived, as president of 
Hamilton College, for the last ten years. 

Dr. Darling was called to the position in which he con- 
tinued to the last, as the successor of Dr. Samuel G. 
Brown. 

It was as a preacher and pastor, that Dr. Darling spent 
the most of his years, the vigor and strength of his life. 
Born in Reading, Pa. , his father widely known in the legal 



54 

profession, he graduated in 1842, and completed his theo- 
logical education at Auburn three years later. Ordained by 
the Presbytery of Columbia in 1846, he began his ministry 
most happily with the old First Church of Hudson, years 
which are still remembered by the older members of that 
historic church as years of great usefulness in the ministry. 
Here he was married to the accomplished lady who sur- 
vives him. It was therefore a special pleasure to both of 
them to participate as they did, Dr. Darling preaching on 
the occasion, at the memorable historical celebration held 
there not long since, on the special invitation of Dr. Yies- 
ley and his people. 

From Hudson Dr. Darling was called in 1853 to Phila- 
delphia, to the Clinton Street Presbyterian Church, when 
looking up to Albert Barnes and Dr. Brainard as fathers in 
the faith, he labored with signal success, even beyond his 
strength, for here his health broke down so completely 
that he was obliged to give up work entirely for two years, 
and was thus without a charge from 1861 to 1863. 
During this interval of rest he preached occasionally, and al- 
ways with great acceptance. His tall figure had a com- 
manding appearance in the pulpit, and the effect was en- 
hanced by a striking countenance and most graceful 
anatomy. 

Regaining his health, he was called to tha Fourth 
Church of Albany in 1863. Though in the midst of the 
war excitement, and fired by the exigency as all were, yet 
that church held on its way in strength and spirituality 
from the very start of Dr. Darling's ministry of eighteen 
years. His faithful record then made, is one that any 
minister might regard with high satisfaction. He took a 
very deep interest in ecclesiastical matters, urging es- 
pecially the policy afterwards carried out, of enlarging the 
Synods, so as to make their boundaries conterminous with 
those of the States. It was in proper recognition of this 
spirit and of his eminence as a pastor, and of the excel- 
lence of his occasional published writings, that he was 
chosen Moderator of the General Assembly at its meeting 
in Buffalo in 1881. He presided with great acceptance. 

Dr. Darling was always an earnest advocate of the pol- 
icy of endowing our educational institutions, especially 
those tributary to the church and sacred ministry. That 
he should have been chosen to the presidency of Hamilton 
College, his spirit and early affiliations being what they 
were, was very natural. The post was, however, a new 



55 

one for him, and doubtless many things were different 
from his anticipation. Yet he has held steadily on his 
way, and in recent months and years has been greatly 
cheered by the prospect of generous and much needed ad- 
ditions to the endowment of the college. That he should 
have died just as the noble Fayerweather gift of one 
hundred thousand dollars is about to be made available, 
will be a matter of regret to many far and near, who loved 
the name and fame of that noble institution of learning, 
so fitly throned upon the hills, Hamilton College. 



From The New York Evangelist, May 21, 1891. 

Personal Characteristics of President Darling. 

BY PROFESSOR HENRY ALLYN FRINK, PH.D. 

Among the early sermons preached by Dr. Darling at 
Hamilton College, was one of marked power, on the pas- 
sive Christian virtues. As I now recall the preacher's per- 
sonal characteristics, I think he then unconsciously revealed 
the source of his peculiar strength as a man and as a col- 
lege president. Not that he was wanting in active and 
•executive force. His great work in his Albany pastorate, 
and his efficiency as a leader in so many of the large or- 
ganized movements of the Presbyterian Church, not to go 
further, were ample proofs of his energetic power. But in 
this he did not seem to me so set apart from other men, as 
in the silent, yet commanding power of his faith, charity, 
patience, gentleness and meekness. Nor in passing from 
the pastorate of a large city church to the presidency of a 
Christian college, was there any loss in the rich influence 
of these personal qualities. The recognition of their large 
helpfulness may be longer delayed, but their force has been 
no less sure and strong in moulding character and shaping 
useful careers. Young men, during the most impression- 
able period of their lives, cannot come into daily contact 
with a large nature, strengthen and enriched by the grace 
of God, as was Dr. Darling's, and not feel in some measure 
its power. The battle of life has not always its highest and 
largest victories in the sharp, swift stroke. Not only do 
we best serve; but often, even from a human point of view 
do we most surely win, as we learn to "stand and wait." 
It is this power of the patient spirit, of the calm mind, of 



56 

the gentle, forbearing temper, that is able to meet un- 
moved the severest shocks, and to retain the field by the 
supremacy of its invincible strength. His dignified bearing 
and unbroken calmness of speech, his constant serenity of 
spirit and unmistakable assurance of divine support, could 
not fail to teach their lesson; a lesson which many a man, 
as he comes to the decisive tests of life, will remember, and 
gain from it inspiration, strength, courage. 

And yet such an occasion would make no new impression. 
It would only deepen and intensify one already felt in 
President Darling's ordinary relations with the student. 
The same patience, charity, faith, and gentleness 
characterized all his dealings with young men. Nor was 
this from any ignorance of human nature. He was a 
shrewd observer of men; but he drew his conclusions from 
large views of life, and so was always generous and charita- 
ble in his judgments. The follies and mistakes of young 
men never blinded him to the good that was in them. He 
seemed to think of each student, as a father thinks of his. 
son. And because the young man was dear to him, he 
could have the patience, forbearance and faith, that love 
never fails to beget. 

While I was a member of the faculty in the early years 
of his administration, he knew every student as a young 
man is rarely known outside of his family circle. In a few 
weeks after his coming to Hamilton College, he could call 
every member of the college by name, and would know, 
from his own observation, whether the student was absent 
or not from the chapel exercises. Not later than three 
weeks from the opening of his first term, he asked a college 
officer why a certain student was absent that morning and 
the morning before. The answer was : ' ' You probably 
mistake the man, for he was present." A peculiarity of the 
student's features was described by Dr. Darling, with the 
question, ' ' Am I wrong ?" He was right : and also, when 
inquiry was made, the student was found to have been 
absent. 

Knowing the students so thoroughly, it was natural that, 
with his quick and tender sympathies he should make their 
sorrows his, and should feel deeply any harm or evil that 
came to them. One instance of his great tenderness and 
warmth of feeling, is vividly impressed on my memory. A 
young man of bright promise and exceedingly attractive 
qualities, while " coasting" was thrown from his sled in 
front of the president's house. In the fall he received a 



57 

blow that proved later to be fatal. He was taken up and 
carried into the house, and watched over and cared for by 
the president, as tenderly as the young man would have 
been by his own father, had he been living. And when the 
widowed and now childless mother came, she was met with 
a sympathy and a manifest love for her son, which led her 
afterward to say, that if God were to take her boy from 
her in her absence, He could not have been more merciful 
than to let such a kind man care for him as was Dr. 
Darling. 

Others will tell of what he did for the college, on its 
material side, of his gifts and influence as a preacher, and 
of his usefulness as an instructor. But it is toward what 
was so peculiarly kind and tender and gracious in his life 
at Clinton, that my thought first turns, and pays its hasty 
and most inadequate but sincere tribute. 

Amherst College, May 1st, i8pi. 



From the Hamilton Literary Monthly, May, 1891. 

In this, our memorial number, the life and labors of 
Dr. Darling are well portrayed by older pens than ours. 
But we, as editors of the Lit. feel that it is our duty 
and our pleasure, bitter-sweet, to voice the students' 
loss and lay upon his tomb a wreath of praise, the simple 
tribute of respect and love. To us as students Dr. Dar- 
ling has endeared himself most strongly, and his death is 
felt as a personal loss by all. His kindness and courtesy 
to each and every one won for him a warm place in every 
heart. His memory for names and faces was wonderful, 
and from the first morning of Freshman year he always 
knew every student by name, and had a kind word for 
each one. Dr. Darling had a great knowledge of human 
nature, and his kind heart made him sympathize with the 
weak and erring. The student called to him for discipline 
was sure to receive the benefit of any just excuse. 

His manners were perfect, elegant, dignified, graceful. 
He was the perfect, typical gentleman. His wonderfully 
winning smile portrayed well his sunny nature. His gen- 
erosity was great. Many a poor student would not have 
received a Hamilton diploma if Dr. Darling, in his quiet 
way, had not given generous assistance. 

As pastor of the College church, Dr. Darling was always 
considered a preacher of great ability. His sermons con- 

D 



58 

tained deep thought, elegantly and logically expressed. A 
remarkably handsome face and figure, a dignity of bearing 
and grace of gesture added much to his power as a speaker. 

Dr. Darling's death is the greatest possible loss to Ham- 
ilton College, in managing the affairs of the college, in its 
financial interest, in gaining students, in interesting alumni, 
he proved himself most efficient. 

To us who have been under Dr. Darling in class-room 
work and had the benefit of his great ability and been im- 
pressed with the charm of his presence the loss seems es- 
pecially severe. 

In future years, as with the eye of many, we look back 
upon the halcyon days of college life, it will be with the 
greatest love and reverence that we recall the name of Dr. 
Henry Darling. 



From the Hamilton Review. 



A great and sad loss has befallen Hamilton. As the 
sudden and unexpected news of the death of President 
Darling was announced on the morning of April 20th, the 
whole college was saddened to the heart. 

Dr. Darling's ten years of service as president of Hamil- 
ton College has been marked by prosperity. He devoted 
himself with all the energy and enthusiasm of his nature 
to the duties of his office and to the general interests of 
the college, and proved himself a very superior in- 
structor and an invaluable friend of the college, whose 
every interest was sure to receive his attentive 
consideration and wise counsel. Of his work it is 
not our province to speak here; we prefer rather to 
speak of him as a man. We can not be mistaken in say- 
ing that Dr. Darling was a man of sigularly broad and 
generous humanity. We felt this when a few years since 
we took his hand for the first time. All that we have 
since learned or observed has confirmed this first impression, 
and the oft recurring necessities of the students found in 
him a constant and efficient advocate. He was always 
cheerful, kind, responsive, full of anecdote, ready alike 
with tongue or pen. Intent, enterprising, quick in per- 
ception, rich in knowledge, and of rapid and versatile con- 
structive force, he was ready for almost any occasion, and 
without hesitation he undertook tasks which to another 
.of less trained intellect would have been overwhelming. 



59 

He was a clear, instructive writer on various themes; a 
leader in many deliberative assemblies. He possessed 
marked executive ability which raised him to places of su- 
premacy; friends and fellow partisans alike were disarmed 
of any possible jealousy by his loving magnanimity. 

The intellect of Dr. Darling was as large and generous 
as his heart. His mind was spontaneously active. His 
earlier choice of studies led him to classical and mathe- 
matical acquisitions; theological, philosophical and his- 
torical studies came later, but they found his mind eager 
to undertake them. He counted no department of human 
thought or work unworthy of his appreciative study. 

The personal character of Dr. Darling had many enjoy- 
ing and delightful traits. Those who only met him occa- 
sionally might think him reserved and unsympathetic; but 
those who knew him best were always those most firmly 
attached to him, who felt for him the surest and amplest 
trust and honor. His manner was that of a dignified man 
of society. 

His ethical sense was fine and lofty. It preserved him 
from anything approaching grossness in action or speech, 
in feeling or thought, and inspired a strong dislike against 
whatever appeared to him false or of a degrading tendency. 

His Christian faith was not only sincere but earnest. It 
had commenced early and was inseperably worked into his 
mental life. It pervaded his discourses. It was apparent 
in his speech. He was readily sympathetic toward those 
in need. As a pastor, therefore, he was especially perse- 
vering, sincere and helpful. His faith and zeal, though 
broadly professed, were never obtrusive. Neither cant or 
sanctimony deformed his manner ; but a natural and self- 
respecting manhood marked him as preeminently a Chris- 
tian gentleman. His self-poise seemed almost never dis- 
turbed and if met with opposition, we believe it not to have 
disturbed his inner tranquility of spirit. 

The result of such a life, which is now ended, is not re- 
corded in printed essays, articles or volumes, but has gone 
into the lives of hearers, communities, and will not fail of 
its fruitful impression wherever the influences which he loved 
and assisted shall be honored, till the college and church to 
which all his vigorous manhood was given have themselves 
become things of the past. 

As we looked on the dark palled casket with its weight 
of flowers, we felt a peculiar grief ; for the doctor had been 
to us a very kind and beloved friend. A gentler and more 



6o 

unselfish heart we have seldom known ; and, we believe 
that in the history of Hamilton College, no man has been 
laid to his rest amid more sincere lamantations than Dr. 
Darling. His name will live in the hearts of many of us 
as long as we can recall the days spent on College Hill. 
He is cut off in the midst of his years, in the height of his 
service, and fame, we turn with sorrow and doubt to find 
one who shall take up the fallen mantle, and carry on the 
work so well sustained by him. 



Charming M. Huntington, '84, in the Hamilton Review. 

Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D. 

President Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D., of Hamilton 
College, was a man of positive, not to say aggressive ideas. 
His was a ripe scholarship, a high plane of intellectual 
ideas, a sincere and logical spiritual belief. Entering upon 
his work with the college upon the resignation of President 
Samuel Gilman Brown, in the year 1881, he found before 
him a task well worthy of his reputed vigor and talent as a 
builder. He left the life of a city clergyman at the head 
of a large and flourishing church. He succeeded a presi- 
dent whose scholarship had a national reputation, but whose 
ability was not of that constructive order especially re- 
quired to build up the national prosperity of the college. 
From Dominie Kirkland down to Presidents North and 
Brown, Hamilton College had never known a president 
whose intellectual attainments had been called in question. 
Sufficient to say that Dr. Darling in his sermons, his bacca- 
laureates, his lectures on theology to the students, his con- 
tributions to schools and publications of Christian philoso- 
phy, failed not to maintain the high standard. 

In the material prosperity of the college, he brought to 
its aid timely and generous helpers. As he summarized it 
at the late meeting of Hamilton's Central New York Alumni, 
the college under his administration has secured a perma- 
nent, orderly and well honored cabinet of natural history ; 
a chapel improved and beautified ; south and north college 
dormitories modernized into desirable and comfortable 
buildings ; an excellent ground for athletic sports ; a hand- 
some house for the College Christian Association ; and the 
promise of speedy provision for a complete gymnasium. 

Back of this, the resources have been largely increased 



6i 

and a partial endowment obtained. The Fayerweather 
bequest of $100,000 has added greatly to its treasury, 
for needed improvements. New scholarships have been 
founded and added to the many which are aiding deserving 
students. 

The intellectual growth of the college has been con- 
tinual. More thoroughness in the departments of modern 
languages and sciences, with no lessening in the discipline 
of the classics, unquestionably elevated the curriculum 
standard. 

If, as has been charged, oratory has suffered, it may be 
because the demands of public life no longer seem to re- 
quire it to be so high a perfection as once prevailed in the 
halls of Hamilton. 

Dr. Darling's influence in the spiritual growth of the col- 
lege is best shown by its fruits. Nearly all of its graduates 
under his administration have gone forth the advocates of 
the ideal of the Christian gentleman as the crown of a lib- 
eral education. 

In private life the late president was courteous in man- 
ner, affable with the students and alumni, and his daily 
life above reproach. To fill the ideal of what a college 
president should be is given unto a few. President Dar- 
ling left upon the college his impress as a man and a 
scholar; a respect for his attainments in the exegetical and 
historical study of the church; his accomplishments in 
mental science. The memorials of his industr)' are easily 
visible, and some are still to arrive at fruition. His suc- 
cessor will step upon made ground with an encouraging 
outlook. 

1 ' Laudes vivorum bonarum et sapientium semper celebre- 
mus. " 

" Manet monumenta ejus, modo permaneat scko/a." 



From the "Hamiltonian," 1891. 

President Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D. 

As the Hamiltonian was nearly ready for delivery the col- 
lege and the outside world was cast into a second gloom of 
sorrow by the death of another of its instructors. On the 
morning of April 20 the bright rays of the sun tried in vain 
to cover the brow of College Hill with cheerfulness, but 
the black cloud of death obscured them. As the boys 



62 

wended their way to chapel that morning there were 
hushed tones instead of the usual joyousness. The empty 
president's chair and the words of Dr. North, broken by 
sorrow as he announced that Dr. Darling had passed from 
earth that morning, added to the feeling of sadness. But 
a few days before the president had been with his classes. 
His death was so unexpected, he was held in such high 
esteem, and there was for him so great an affection among 
us that no tongue can tell or pen write the grief that filled 
every heart. 

During Dr. Darling's administration of the affairs of the 
college many changes have been made. Wm. H. Skinner, 
or North college, has been entirely remodeled. Knox Hall 
has been remodeled, and the Porter, Trask, Woodward 
and Milne additions have been made to the library. Silliman 
Hall, the Y. M. C. A. building, has been erected by one of 
his most intimate friends, H. B. Silliman, LL. D., of Cohoes, 
and the same gentleman had the chapel renovated last 
year, operations have already begun, through the munifi- 
cence of the Messrs. Soper, to have Middle college trans- 
formed into a gymnasium. Many scholarships and other 
funds have gone into the college treasury. 

In his position as president of Hamilton College, " Wal- 
cott Professor of the Evidences of Christianity, of Moral 
Science and Natural Religion," and pastor of the College 
church, the high intellectual characteristics which he pos- 
sessed were always displayed. Habits of exhaustive study 
had made him a man of very broad culture. He was a 
polished and forcible writer, and published a number of 
pamphlets and articles. His book, ''The Closer Walk," 
was published not only in this country, but in England, 
and was translated into two of the dialects of India. He 
was a member of the Victoria Institute of England. One 
of his chief aims was to elevate the moral tone of the col- 
lege. He strove to secure for the institution the most ad- 
vanced methods of instruction. His home life and his 
public life were models. The world is better for his having 
been in it. 



RESOLUTIONS, 



Action of the Trustees. 

Resolutions of the Board of Trustees of Hamilton Col- 
lege, June 24, 1 89 1. Dr. Spalding offered the following, 
which was adopted : 

The Board of Trustees of Hamilton College as a testi- 
monial of respect for the memory of their late president, 
Rev. Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D., who died April 20, 
1 89 1, would here record the following minute : 

Rev. Dr. Henry Darling ten years ago was inducted into 
the responsible office of the presidency of this instituion of 
learning. He brought to the administration a distinguished 
reputation as a preacher, strong and lucid in his thought, 
graceful and persuasive in his speech, earnest, simple, sin- 
cere in his spirit, and as a scholar whose attainments en- 
abled him even in his engrossing duties as a pastor to im- 
press his opinions and character upon the great educational 
movements which, thirty years ago, rose into new power 
in our country. 

With an entire consecration of all his abilities he has given 
himself during the last decade of years to the single work 
of maintaining the high character which Hamilton College 
had long ago won among the colleges of the land. 

Among responsibilities of unusual magnitude, and ques- 
tions most delicate and yet imperative, President Darling, 
by his personal dignity, his uniform courtesy, his patience 
and courage, and calm, wise judgment has held the esteem 
of his co-laborers as one whose constant aim and prayer 
was for the highest success of this institution. 

His interest in the students was intensely personal. He 
won their confidence by his considerate kindness, and by 
every best influence he sought to lead them into noblest 
manhood. 

We shall recall with tender feelings his Christian spirit 
and bearing, his entire conscientiousness, his fidelities in 
trusts and labors large and manifold. To his family in 
their heavy sorrow, we desire most sincerely and respect- 
fully to extend our heartfelt sympathies. 



6 4 

The Executive Committee. 

At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the 
Trustees of Hamilton College the following resolutions 
were unanimously adopted : 

Resolved, i. That in the death of President Darling 
the cause of education and religion has sustained the loss 
of one whose attainments and services will entitle him to 
the high position universally conceded to him by theolog- 
ians and scholars. 

2. That Hamilton College mourns deeply the loss of the 
beloved aad honored head, and desires to place on record 
an expression of affection inspired by his lovely character, 
the admiration felt for his scholarly attainments, the con- 
fidence of those associated with him in his practical wisdom 
and executive ability. 

3. That we desire to record our conviction that Hamil- 
ton College owes much of its present reputation, prosperity 
and usefulness to President Darling's patient continuance 
in well doing in her behalf, to his unselfish devotion to her 
interests, his self-sacrificing zeal for her welfare, his great 
talents consecrated to her upbuilding, and perhaps more 
than all to his pure, manly Christian life, by which he was 
a living epistle known and read of all men. 

4. That we tender to Dr. Darling's bereaved family our 
most heartfelt sympathy, assuring them that we also feel 
bereaved of a dear friend and a beloved associate. We 
commend them to the abundant consolations of Him 
whose he was and whom he served. 



The Faculty. 

At a special meeting of the Faculty of Hamilton College, 
held in the library, April 21, 1891, the following resolu- 
tions were proposed and adopted : 

Resolved, That in the sudden death of President Henry 
Darling, while deeply absorbed in the cares of his office, 
we suffer a sharp affliction that takes from us a trusted 
leader and colleague in daily duty who for ten years has 
been most earnestly and successfully devoted to the work 
of enlarging the usefulness and good influences of Hamilton 
College, who has been exemplary in his kindly and consid- 
erate patience, courtesy and wisdom in dealing with the 



65 

trying responsibilities of his position, whose ability and 
fidelity as preacher, pastor and teacher have won for him 
the lasting gratitude of the students, alumni and friends of 
the college. 

Resolved, That while we deeply and sincerely mourn with 
the afflicted family and friends of our departed president, 
we pray that comfort may come to them from the all-wise 
Father, whose promises of light in darkness will be faith- 
fully kept when trustfully leaned on. 

Resolved, That the usual college exercises be suspended 
until the morning after the funeral of President Darling ; 
that the interior of the chapel be draped in black ; that 
this memorial of our sympathy and respect be presented 
to the family of President Darling, and recorded in the 
minutes of the faculty. 



The Students. 

The following resolutions on the death of the late Presi- 
dent Darling, of Hamilton College, were adopted by the 
students of that institution : 

Whereas, it has pleased God in his wisdom to call from 
among us our honored president, Henry Darling, be it 

Resolved, That we, the students of Hamilton College, 
realizing the great loss we have sustained, here give ex- 
pression to our high regard for his exalted character in life, 
and our deep sorrow at his death, and further that we make 
known our appreciation of his faithful performance of the 
duties of his office, his ability as a scholar and instructor 
and his constant kindness, and that we recognize in him a 
Christian gentleman, counselor and friend. 

Resolved, That while we lament the sudden and unex- 
pected death which has closed a career so eminently useful 
and successful, we extend heartfelt sympathy to his family 
in their bereavement. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the 
family, and that they be printed in the college publications 
and the Rome and Utica papers. 

T. E. Hayden, 
G. F. Wood, 
Starr Cadwallader, 
Alexander Soper, Jr. 



66 

The CoIIeqe Church. 

At a special meeting of the College Church, of which Dr. 
Darling was pastor, held April 21, 1891, the following reso- 
lutions were proposed and adopted by the session : 

Whereas, our Heavenly Father, in the dispensation of 
His providence, has seen fit to remove from us our revered 
and beloved pastor, Dr. Henry Darling ; 

Resolved, That we the officers of the College Church, 
express our very deep sense of the loss we have sustained 
in the death of one whose faithfulness as a pastor won our 
highest esteem, and whose influence was most potent and 
whose labors were untiring for the spiritual well-being of 
those with whom he came in contact. 

Resolved, That we recognize in him a man of highest 
culture and of broadest Christian sympathy, 

Resolved, That we extend to the bereaved family our deep- 
est sympathy and commend them to our common Heavenly 
Father, who alone can give peace and comfort to those 
who mourn. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the 
family, and that they be published in the Hamilton Liter- 
ary Monthly, the Hamilton Review, and the Utica daily 
papers. 

James S. Wilkes, 
George F. Wood, 
Charles E. Orsler. 



Auburn Seminary. 

The following is a copy taken from the record of the 
trustees of the Theological Seminary of Auburn, of a 
minute with reference to the death of Henry Darling, D. 
D., LL. D.: 

The Trustees of the Auburn Theological Seminary have 
heard with sorrow and a deep sense of loss of the death of 
the Rev. Henry Darling, D. D. , LL. D. , for seven years a 
trustee of this institution. 

They desire to make record of their grateful sense of the 
indebtedness of the seminary to his long and faithful ser- 
vice in their board. To his wise councils, his earnest 
labors, his hearty loyalty, and his practical and efficient 



6; 

help in strengthening and enlarging the seminary, they de- 
sire to bear witness. 

They would express their appreciation not only of the 
dignity of his character and the breadth of his intellectual 
powers, which were ever at the call of the seminary, but 
also of that kind and genial Christian character and 
courtesy which ever made his presence at the meeting of 
the board most welcome; and which has made his death 
an occasion of lasting sorrow to his fellow trustees." 

James Seymour, Jr., 

Secretary. 

The Commissioners of Auburn Theological Seminary 
have heard with profound regret of the death of the Rev. 
Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D., president of Hamilton Col- 
lege, and for many years a most valued and honored coun- 
sellor and trustee of this seminary. 

They desire to put on record their grateful sense of the 
distinguished services rendered by Dr. Darling to this in- 
stitution, not merely by faithful attendance upon his official 
duties and wise counsels in the discharge of the same, but 
by his constant and loving loyalty, and his earnest and 
successful private efforts to strength and enlarge the influ- 
ence of the seminary. 

At the annual meeting of the Alumni of Auburn Theo- 
logical Seminary, held May 6, 1891, notices were read, as 
usual, of alumni who had died during the year. The no- 
tice of Dr. Henry Darling, of the class of 1845, after sketch- 
ing his career, spoke of him as follows : 

' ' A prominent figure in the councils of our church is re- 
moved in the sudden death of Dr. Darling. As a pastor 
and preacher, as the presiding officer of the General As- 
sembly, as permanent clerk of the church, and as an edu- 
cator, he did good work, whose influence will long remain. 
By voice and pen he advocated the reconstruction of the 
Synods, and he was earnestly in favor of the endowment of 
the educational institutions of the church. His death is a 
loss to the whole church, which he served so long and so 
faithfully." 

After the reading of this sketch remarks were made full 
of feeling and appreciation by several of the alumni pres- 
ent, including some who had been co-workers with Dr. 



68 

Darling, and some who had been under his care as students 
in Hamilton College. 



Fourth Presbyterian Church of Albany. 

Minute adopted by the session of the Fourth Presby- 
terian Church of Albany, N. Y., April 21, 1891, upon the 
death of the Rev. Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D. : 

Of the faithful pastors who have served this church 
through the more than sixty years of its life, none labored 
more earnestly and devotedly, or with more manifest 
tokens of divine favor, than the Rev. Henry Darling. 

In many respects his long pastorate of eighteen years 
marks the most successful period of our church life. Com- 
ing to it in the full maturity of his rare powers, his abun- 
dant labors were honored of God in deepening and strength- 
ening the spirituality of our people, and greatly increasing 
our usefulness. From the beginning he had the loyal and 
loving support of the entire congregation. Seldom, in- 
deed, does a pastor experience such uniform and enthusi- 
astic devotion, and this was due not more to his command- 
ing ability as a preacher than to his profound sympathy as 
a man, his untiring thoughtfulness of others, his ceaseless 
ministries to individual needs. He stopped at no personal 
sacrifice where the good of others was concerned; and so 
his name is cherished to-day by a great company who 
found in him a friend and brother. The best years of his 
life were given to the service of this church, with results 
which only eternity can measure. To-day they are seen 
in the deep religious convictions and far-reaching activities 
of those whom he trained for service. Repeated revivals 
marked the aggressive nature of his ministry, while the 
steadily unfolding spiritual life of believers showed the 
character of his teaching, and his personal influence within 
the church. 

Surely, his works do follow him: and the time will never 
come when the ministry of Henry Darling will not be a 
living energy in the church to which was given so large a 
part of his consecrated labors. 

In the deep sense of sorrow awakened by his death we 
feel that none stand nearer to his stricken family, to whom 
the love and sympathy of our hearts go out, and for whom 



6 9 

we unitedly pray that the God of all comfort will reveal 
the protecting and sustaining strenth of the everlasting 
arms. 

Andrew V. V. Raymond, 

Moderator. 
Edward A. Durant, 
Samuel Anable, 
James McKinney, 
Wm. R. Davidson, 
Frederick Cleveland, 
Austin S. Kibbee, 
James Rodgers, 
John Rowland, 
Chauncey B. Wickes, 
William N. Kennedy, 
Edward A. Hobbs, 
Henry D. Enos. 



Albany Presbytery. 

Rev. Andrew V. V. Raymond, D. D. , Rev. James Gard- 
ner, D. D., and Rev. David M. Reeves, D. D., were ap- 
pointed a committee to bring in a suitable minute on the 
death of Rev. Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D., late presi- 
dent of Hamilton College. They subsequently reported as 
follows : 

The death of Rev. Henry Darling, D. D. , LL. D. , presi- 
dent of Hamilton College, has brought sorrow to unnum- 
bered hearts. Nowhere was he better known, or more be- 
loved than in this city, where for so many years he labored 
as pastor. 

It was while here and in connection with this Presbytery 
that his name first became universally known and honored ; 
and so, it is fitting that we as a Presbytery record our ap- 
preciation of his distinguished services as a minister of 
Jesus Christ. He will long be remembered for the dignity 
and courtliness of his commanding presence. His striking 
personality won attention everywhere and gave a rare charm 
to all he said and did. 

It was impossible to be indifferent to him. The eye in- 
stinctively sought his face, which expressed both the 
strength and beauty of a refined and chastened nature. He 



7o 

impressed all with an inherent right to respect and reverent 
regard. Every place of honor in the gift of his brethren 
seemed to belong to him, and was never withheld. He 
dignified every official station, discharging the most exalted 
duties with exceptional grace and unquestioned ability. 

As Moderator of the General Assembly he realized the 
ideal of a courteous and wise executive, while in every 
great cause to which he gave his services he was a recog- 
nized leader. 

Of his work as pastor and teacher, this church, which 
for eighteen years received his devoted care, is, to-day, and 
will long be, the truest memorial, in its spiritual aggressive- 
ness, its large beneficence, its developed Christian life, 
testifying to faithful instruction and untiring zeal in the 
Gospel ministry. His marked success in this field led to 
his choice as president of an old and honored institution of 
learning, and, in the fulfillment of the duties of this high 
office, he ended his years of services upon earth, leaving a 
name enshrined in many hearts, and the memory of a 
broadly useful life. 

In this time of great sorrow, we commend with loving 
sympathy and united prayers, the dear ones of his home, 
to the care of that Saviour whom he preached as an all- 
sufficient refuge for the weary and heavy-laden. May He 
call them into the very secret of His presence and give 
them peace. 

Adopted by a rising vote, and the Presbytery was led in 
prayer by Rev. James Eells. 



MEMORIAL SERVICES. 



Sunday morning, December 7, 1891, services were held 
in the Stone Church at Clinton, in memory of the late 
President Darling, D. D., LL. D., of Hamilton college. 
A large congregation composed of faculty, alumni, stu- 
dents and friends, assembled to listen to the memorial 
addresses by Hon. Horace B. Silliman, of Cohoes, and 
Rev. Prof. Arthur S. Hoyt, of Auburn. The exercises 
opened with prayer and Scripture reading by Rev. T. B. 
Hudson, after which the congregation was led by the col- 
lege choir in the singing of the hymn, ' ' Lead Kindly 
Light," followed by prayer by Rev. Prof. W. R. Terrett. 

Hon. H. B. Silliman's Address. 

Rev. Dr. Hudson then introduced Mr. Silliman, who 
spoke as follows: 

It is difficult for a speaker, on an occasion like this, to 
give expression to the memories which crowd upon his 
mind, in connection with the life and character of a man 
like Henry Darling. He occupied so prominent a position 
in important public affairs that in regard to many events in 
literary, educational and ecclesiastical history, it might be 
said, a great part of them he was. So also in reference to 
his professional labors in this place; to which he gave, 
with entire devotion, the mature fruit of his experience, 
learning and piety; and to the value of which so many in 
every part of the world, and some with us here to-day, are 
living witnesses. And especially, as to his personal char- 
acteristics. He can not stand where he so often stood; or 
tread the the paths from which his footsteps are scarcely 
effaced, or visit the scenes of which his familiar presence 



72 

seemed to constitute a part, without recalling, almost too 
vividly, the manly dignity of his presence, the winning- 
courtesy of his manner, the mingled kindness and wisdom 
of his words, which, always fitly spoken, were truly apples 
of gold in baskets of silver. 

It were indeed no small task, although a labor of love, 
to present within suitable limits a complete memorial of a 
life so full of varied and honorable achievements. I shall 
not attempt more than brief allusions to some of its phases, 
which came under my observation; but am glad to know 
that it will be treated at greater length and fullness 
of circumstance, by one who was associated with him in 
the duties of official position, as well as in relations of per- 
sonal confidence and affection. 

But I am glad to have an opportunity of expressing the 
admiration and love which I felt for him, whom I esteemed 
as one of the wisest, truest, most Christian men I ever 
knew; whose friendship I consider the highest honor, and 
whose loss I mourn more deeply than words can express. 

In the daily papers of last week was an account of me- 
morial services in a neighboring city, where upon the plat- 
form were placed representations of green graves, designed 
to remind those present of the men whom they delighted 
to honor, who were sleeping in a far off land. It needs no 
material object to remind us of the loss which has been 
sustained by the individuals and the institution who unite 
in this service. 

There are many who remember how in legislative and 
other councils his great influence was sought, and never in 
vain, in the determination of questions of public concern, 
particularly those involving moral issues. Many, in more 
places than one, who remember the ability and devotion 
with which he performed the duties of the pastorate; mag- 
nifying the office in the sight of all men, and emphasizing 
the Scripture he often quoted, ' ' If any man seeketh the 
office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." Many who 
were associated with him in responsible positions of dignity 



73 

and trust, who leaned upon his strength, confided in his 
advice, and trusted in his integrity. 

Many who recall the exceptional skill with which he 
molded the opinions and guided the action of church judi- 
catories and deliberative bodies, earnestly contending for 
the faith once for all delivered to the saints. 

Many who know how their interest and zeal were 
quickened as they listened to his glowing appeals in behalf 
of Christian education, and especially in behalf of that in- 
stitution which was the object of his unremitting labor and 
unceasing prayer; to secure the prosperity of which he de- 
voted all his powers, carrying in his hands and upon his 
heart its every interest, physical, intellectual and moral; 
counting no personal sacrifice in its behalf too great. In 
good report, and evil report, faithful to the high trust com- 
mitted to his charge, and never losing faith, hope or 
charity. 

Others, perhaps, can tell the story better than I of his 
work in the class room, and in the performance of his of- 
ficial duties in the college, but none can better appreciate 
the fact that to him more than to any other, Hamilton owes 
its present prosperity and the bright prospects which 
illumine its future. And yet more than in all the recollec- 
tions and records of his public life, he will be remembered 
in his ministrations to individuals. No need of material 
emblem to recall to any of that great number to whom as 
pastor, counselor and friend, he was God's messenger of 
solace and help; to the very many who in body and mind, 
and soul, owe to him their present happiness and future 
hopes. 

As we stand by the grassy hillock in yonder cemetery, 
where sleep the remains of our brother, it is mournful, be- 
yond expression, to feel that a life interwoven with so many 
interests; apparently indispensable to the happiness of in- 
dividuals and the welfare of society; a life so beautiful, so 
beneficent, is now nothing but a memory. But it is so ! 
On the elevation just above, there sits, in sweet serenity, 
the marble form of the angel of the sepulcher. The eye is 



74 

turned toward this grave. On the countenance is an ex- 
pression of chastened grief, but also one of hopeful con- 
fidence. And the silent lips seem to murmur the words of 
the legend inscribed upon the pedestal, ' ' Why seek ye the 
living among the dead ?" 

Let us listen to the voice of the angel. And while we 
hold memorial services and fondly dwell upon the tender, 
honorable, precious memories of our friend, of how he ap- 
peared, of what he said and what he did, while he was yet 
with us in the flesh, let us not seek him, the living, only 
among memories. 

We commit the body to the earth, believing that it will 
sleep in the tender care of the Almighty, all loving one, 
until ransomed from the power of the grave. He brings it 
with him, fashioned like unto his glorious body, and its 
mortality will be swallowed up in life. 

But imperfect as our knowledge is of the conditions of 
spiritual existence, we believe that not one of the mental 
or moral qualities which constituted the personality we 
all admired and loved has ever been brought into sub- 
jection to the king of terrors, or held one moment in 
his grasp; but with continued existence take hold of the 
everlasting life which he has given to them who believe in 
his name. 

While, therefore, we consecrate this hour by bringing 
from the full storehouse of memory recollections of the life 
which he lived here, let us not think or feel that they are 
all that remain to us of him, or that he lives, alone, in 
them. 

And for our consolation there may be given to our faith, 
to some extent, a vision which the eye hath not seen, a 
hearing which the ear hath not heard, a conception which 
hath not entered the heart of man, of the things which 
God hath prepared for them that love him; a gleam of that 
brightness as of the firmament, in which they who were 
teachers are shining, and they who turned many to right- 
eousness, as the stars for ever and ever. 



75 



Professor lioyt's Address. 

After the anthem, "The Lord is my Shepherd," Rev. 
Prof. Arthur S. Hoyt, D. D, , delivered an address, speaking 
as follows : 

' ' The fact that gives to human service its hope and sig- 
nificance is the continuousness of life. Life is a growth, 
continuous and deathless ; an ever unfolding, expanding, 
propelling force — the result of all that we have received 
and done, all that we have thought and felt and suffered." 
So "no act falls fruitless. " It has an immortality in the 
being that does and receives. It is both effect and cause ; 
the voice of the past, the prophecy of the future. 

And this law of God in man, giving to our lives their 
continuity and to our service its permanence, is the same 
law that works for the well being of society. The institu- 
tions of men have an organic life. All that is of worth in 
human society — law and government, religion and culture — 
has been a growth. The beginnings are in the prayers and 
tears and toils of the fathers, and the children to the latest 
generation are to receive the precious treasure and add 
thereto the sacred things of their own lives. ' ' Other men 
labored and ye have entered into their labors." 

Life is indissoluble, imperishable. It may not seem to 
have its just measure in the present ; it may seem to fail 
of its legitimate completion ; the joyous, thankful recogni- 
tion of men may be wanting. But the ' ' day shall declare 
it " in its perfected strength and beauty of character, and 
in the enlarged life and blessing of the men and institutions 
to which its service contributed. 

And so God would make us lavish of life, breathe into 
us the motive of holy, unselfish devotion. Not in the 
broken and disordered present is it possible for us to see or 
to receive the full mead of the highest toil ; but we may 
live in lives to come. 

" Be to other souls 
The cup of strength in some great agony, 
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love." 



76 

Of each generation of noble men it may be written as of 
the hero roll of the ancient church : ' ' And these all, having 
obtained a good report thro' faith received not the prom- 
ise : God having provided some better thing for us, that 
they without us should not be made perfect." 

Thoughts like these can hardly fail to be suggested as 
we attempt to trace the record of another life that gave 
itself in holiest service to the well being of an institution of 
learning. 

Hamilton College has a life now hastening towards its 
fourth generation. It is a record of the generations that 
have touched these hills and valleys. The past is met in 
every turning point of the way. It lives again in the life 
of to-day. 

No life can be lost. The name may be only a fading 
memory, but the forces of thought and character are active 
forces of the present. They live in the name of Hamilton, 
loved and honored in a thousand homes, in the men here 
trained for the service of humanity, in the habits of thought 
and work of the college, in the standard of scholarship, 
in the ideals of manhood, in the intellectual and moral 
atmosphere that feeds the flame of youth. The presci- 
ence and faith and courage of Kirkland are our heritage ; 
the hearty, genial energy and wisdom of Backus ; the 
masterly will and scholarship of Davis ; the culture of 
Dwight ; the versatile learning of Penney ; the modest, 
patient, enlarging service of Simeon North ; the broad 
sympathy and eloquence of Fisher ; the ' ' simple living 
and high thinking " of Dr. Brown ; and the life of him 
whom we remember to-day — all these are ours. Every 
spot of yonder hillside is sacred to their memory. Their 
service is our rich opportunity, and the measure of our 
privilege and duty. 

This, then, is holy ground ; holy for its measure of life 
here given and for the messages of God here spoken. 
Young men, "ye are treading where the saints have trod.'' 
Sons of Hamilton, ours is the work of elect men. The im- 
mortal dead live again 

"In minds made better by their presence." 



77 

What shall we say of the service to Hamilton College of 
Henry Darling ? I am not unmindful of the difficulty and 
delicacy of the task assigned me. For a decade he has 
given the wealth of his nature and experience, without stint 
or hope of reward, to the interests of the college and the 
lives of its youth. This is known to all. And yet the best 
part of a man's service can not be reduced to analysis ; the 
subtle, intangible effluence of character, unseen but most 
potent of all work. The largest part of all true life is out 
of sight. Our very nearness to men, our daily association 
and bonds of a thousand interests may prevent the breadth 
of view that shall rightly estimate the largeness of the 
human design and relation. But the hour calls for an hon- 
est and generous attempt to appreciate the worth and 
recognize the labor of the man who presided through eventful 
years over the life of the college. 

Dr. Darling was happy in his birth and training. He 
was a child of "the prophets and of the covenant ;" his 
mother a pattern of womanly grace and piety, his father 
widely honored on the bench and in the church. Such a 
nature, molded by such influences, did not fail to be 
strengthened and quickened and set apart by the higher 
power in the years of college life at Amherst, and in the 
theological studies of Union and Auburn. He touched 
such men as Humphreys and Mills, Richards and Hickock. 
In the companionship of enthusiastic youth and noble 
minded instructors he was possessed 

" With a conviction of power that waits 
On knowledge." 

and was taught 

" To minister to works of high attempt." 

He entered the ministry at the age when most men are 
finishing their college studies. With the unworldly spirit 
of service and not of place, he began his work in the coun- 
try parish of Vernon, just over our western hills, while 
his seminary companion and life long friend, Henry Ken- 
dall, ^ministered to the neighboring parish of Verona. 



78 

From this preparatory testing of knowledge and power, 
with the lessons of human need and helpfulness best 
learned where the natural man is free from the bonds and 
cloaks of social convention, the young man passed to the 
larger and more important field of Hudson. He built the 
precious things of truth and character into the life of that 
Zion, and he is there held in loving and graceful remembrance 
by the fathers of that church. Without any vulgar self- 
assertion, without posing for public notice, Mr. Darling 
came to be regarded as one of the promising men of the 
denomination. His forceful pulpit utterance, his devotion 
and tact in pastoral work, his intelligent interest in the 
larger things of Christ's kingdom, his attractive and com- 
manding personality, made certain his calls to fields of 
widest responsibility and usefulness. 

In 1853, at the age of 30, he became the pastor of the 
Clinton Street Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, and 
the next year he delivered a sermon before the Synod of 
Pennsylvania on ''The Great Work of the Church," in 
which he spoke with prophetic force of the finding and 
training of the choicest youth for the gospel ministry. 
Labors of the pulpit and parish rapidly multiplied. Calls 
to extra service in pulpit and on platform did not go un- 
heeded. The benevolent boards of the church, with their 
seat in Philadelphia, claimed his time and wisdom. He 
was made the permanent clerk of the N. S. Assembly and 
thus practically directed the work of the church in its high- 
est court, and thus ever widened his knowledge of relig- 
ious affairs, and his intercourse among Christian men. 
Months of weakness and pain followed the overtaxed 
strength. To such a man in the conscious power of early 
maturity and with growing visions of influence, sickness is 
the hardest ill to bear in peace. But he learned to feel 
that 

" It is the one comes straightest from God's hand, 
And makes us feel him nearest to ourselves." 

They serve who only wait. He gained the "closer 
walk." And in the final garner who shall say that the 



79 

richest fruit of life has not grown from the years of en- 
forced rest ? It was the ' ' prisoner of pain " who gave us 
"The Still Hour," the classic of devotion to be placed 
with Fenelon and Taylor and Kempis. And it was 
the shutting of the public way that gave to the church 
1 ' The Closer Walk, " light upon the path that brightens 
unto the perfect day to thousands in our own and other 
lands. From the life "shut in" also came "Worship as 
an Element of Sanctuary Service," that noble and timely 
plea for ' ' such beautiful symmetry between worship and 
instruction as to make the whole appear but one act of 
grateful homage to Jehovah." Personal trial could be lost 
in the sufferings of a nation ; and though the voice had to 
be silent, the pen of Dr. Darling was eloquent in appeals 
to loyalty. The historical essay "Slavery and the War," 
published by the Lippincotts in 1863, is the work of a 
careful and enthusiastic student of American history, and a 
bold reading of the handwriting against slavery. 

The months of waiting were now over, and with health 
restored and deepened experience and with ambition that 
had passed to aspiration, he began the pastorate of the 
Fourth Church of Albany, the field of his longest and hap- 
piest, and humanly speaking, his best work. 

It is no disparagement to any other gift and service of 
Dr. Darling to say that first and foremost he was the pastor. 
For eighteen years he served and lead as devoted and 
active and influential a people as given to any minister of 
the generation. The Fourth Church of Albany is the 
measure of his service and the monument of his power. 
He sustained the reputation of its pulpit — a pulpit that 
had been ministered to by kingly preachers, Kirk and Man- 
deville, Fisher and Seelye. He quickened all the forms of 
its activity, making it outreaching, aggressive and mission- 
ary. It caught the spirit and incarnated his own words • 
" Be a live church, be a loving church, be a liberal church, 
be a laborious church." 

He wisely and fearlessly discussed civil questions as 
touching moral and religious interests, and made his 



8o 

church felt as a social and intellectual power at the capital 
of the State. 

The best of all, in lowly imitation of his Master, he 
went about doing good. The princely figure was never so 
princely as when carrying light and gladness to a humble 
home. The rich nature was never so noble as when gather- 
ing the children in its embracing love. He was 

" One whose meek flock the people joyed to be." 

" I never thought of going to Albany without seeing Dr. 
Darling," were the words spoken a few days ago by one in 
a distant city who never fails to think of him as a pastor. 
From the beginning of his ministry, Dr. Darling was no 
narrow ecclesiastic, but put himself in sympathy and alli- 
ance with all efforts for the betterment of men. Local 
charities and literary and scientific societies awakened his 
interest. He was an eager student of the social and 
economic movements of his day. But the larger interests 
of the kingdom of Christ had his affection. The Evangeli- 
cal Alliance, the Tract and Bible socities and the missionary 
boards found in him an earnest advocate and supporter. 
His name and influence in the church steadily grew with 
the years. He was a director of Union Seminary, and 
latterly a trustee of Auburn. His evangelical spirit was so 
wise and generous that he frequently served on commit- 
tees looking toward cooperation or union with other 
churches. With Dr. H. B. Smith, Dr. Fisher and others 
of like temper, he prepared the plan of union between the 
old and new school churches and rejoiced in its happy con- 
summation. With equal zeal he labored for the healing of 
the division between the northern and southern churches, 
but " died without the sight." The fit and crowning honor 
of his pastoral work came to him in 1881 in his election as 
Moderator of the General Assembly. It is best for us here 
to let his brethren speak for him. What pastor has won 
warmer expression of love from his people ? ' ' He stopped 
at no personal sacrifice where the good of others was con- 
cerned ; and so his name is cherished to-day by a great 
company who found in him a friend and a brother." What 



8i 

Presbyter has gained higher honor from his co-presbyters ? 
' ' He impressed all with an inherent right to respect and 
reverent regard. Every place of honor in the gift of his 
brethren seemed to belong to him, and was never withheld. 
As Moderator of the General Assembly he realized the 
idea of a wise and courteous executive, while in every 
great cause to which he gave his services he was a recog- 
nized leader." 

I have dwelt at some length on the ministerial life of Dr. 
Darling, that we might have clearly before us the chief facts 
and characteristics of the man, who came ten years ago to 
preside over the affairs of our alma mater. The service of 
any man is to be judged by the nature of the life offered 
and by the purpose and quality of the service. 

We have seen something of the life, its generous pattern, 
its unselfish bestowal, its honored name. And what shall 
we say of the service to Hamilton College ? The presi- 
dency of a college is thought by the world to be the crown- 
ing honor of a life devoted to intellectual and moral forces. 
Dr. Darling did not depreciate the honor of the presidency, 
or doubt the guiding hand of God in leading him to it ; but 
could his heart have spoken, who doubts that he would 
have said, wiih Austin Phelps, when called from Boston to 
Andover : ' ' I revered my pulpit as I did no other spot on 
earth." 

There were many reasons that pointed to the pastor of 
the Fourth Church as the man to lead Hamilton into a 
larger life. His wisdom, energy and progressiveness, his 
wide acquaintance with men, his honorable name in all the 
churches. Though inexperienced in the actual conduct of a 
college, more than once had he turned a deaf ear to the 
solicitations of seats of learning. ' ' The loved autocrat by 
consent of a live and progressive church, the admitted 
master by tact and moral force of presbyteries and synods. " 
Could he change the course of life, and. gather into har- 
monious and effective working the peculiar and independ- 
ent forces of a country college ? He had seen the difficul- 
ties of the years, the burdens of toil and anxiety, the hopes 



82 

deferred — and the ' ' heavenly vision " — the faith and cour- 
age and patience of Henry Darling would have been instantly 
obedient. 

The ten years just past have seen a growing sympathy be- 
tween the faculty and the students. The former do not con- 
sult their own dignity and convenience, and keep themselves 
in cold, intellectual reserve ; and the latter have long since 
ceased to regard the faculty as their natural enemies. It is 
not possible for a boy to go through Hamilton College with- 
out the opportunity of a close, friendly relation with some 
worthy instructor, and of feeling the refining influences of 
some Christian home. And out of this spirit has grown a 
Hamilton spirit, a manly respect for tried and self-denying 
labor ; a kindly recognition of honest effort ; an enthusiasm 
for the college that sends men forth with sacred memories 
and loyal devotion. I have no fear of contradiction in say- 
ing that for the more wholesome confidence and sympathy 
of the present the college is largely indebted to the personal 
influence of President Darling. He believed in young men. 
He had personal interest in them. It was more than the 
intellectual interest or sentiment that gathers about youth 
as the time impressionable and expanding, unfolding the 
possibility of wondrous growth and power ; but that 
rarely regards the person of any particular youth. Dr. 
Darling's interest always had to do with individuals. He 
had the interest of the heart, rather I should say, that in- 
terest of the Divine Spirit, that fruit of the spirit called, in 
the Revised Version, kindness — kindliness — the kinship of 
his soul going out to find and to bind to itself the kinship 
of every other soul. So he knew every young man in per- 
son, his name, parentage, early surroundings, present cir- 
cumstances. Without the slightest espionage, but out of 
kindly heart he followed men in their studies and recrea- 
tions. A word of warning or encouragement has saved 
many a man from college failure or moral decline. 
In sickness he ministered, in difficulty he counseled, in 
poverty he gave. He was interested in every honorable 
phase of college life, in everything that properly interests 



83 

young men. Has there ever been a more fatherly watch- 
care of Hamilton boys ? You have seen the light on that 
gracious face, felt the grasp of that helpful hand, heard the 
word of that kindly heart, and you can never forget them. 
And they are part of the potent influences in the life of the 
college, speaking against all coldness and suspicion and 
working toward the era of brotherly confidence and help- 
fulness. "You can get close to this man and talk to him,' 
is the significant testimony of a servant of the college. 
"If God must take my boy from me in my absence," spoke 
the widowed and now childless mother, as she thought of the 
president's tender care for her stricken son, ' ' he could not 
have been more merciful than to let such a kind man care 
for him as Dr. Darling. " 

Another service rendered to the college by the late presi- 
dent was his perception and encouragement of humble 
worth. It is possible that the critics of the social tenden- 
cies of the American colleges have some truth when they 
declare that college boys are losing the democratic spirit. 
The Yale fence is no more. Club life has come to increase 
the exclusiveness of fraternities. 

"The wealthiest man among us is the best." 

I hope it may never be true of our alma mater. But the 
material tendency of the day brings its pressure even upon 
this quiet life. 

"The world is too much with us." 

And wealth, and social grace and brilliant gifts too easily 
dazzle our eyes to the enduring nature of true worth- 
"He has no money," was the contemptuous remark of a 
Hamilton student concerning another, superior in every 
way save the cut of his coat and the thickness of his 
pocketbook. No student can say of Dr. Darling, "He 
passed me by because my home was humble and my 
clothes were poor." Accustomed from early years to social 
affluence himself, he had the true American spirit and the 
spirit of Christ in ever looking for the man beneath dress 
and convention. He knew, to use his own words spoken 



8 4 

nearly forty years ago, that ' ' the richest gifts that have 
ever been laid upon the altar of religion, minds beautiful 
and immortal, have been the gifts of poverty." He could 
not forget that one of the noblest sons of Hamilton came 
to the college on foot; that another for the same reason 
took the same hard path, who is now honored wherever 
loyal and wise statesmanship is known. While laboring 
earnestly for larger means that no worthy and aspiring son 
of toil might be turned from the door, he felt that the 
glory of the college was its triumph over difficulties, the 
discipline in hardships and the democratic spirit of his 
students, the simple, faithful, self-denying lives of its 
teachers. 

Dr. Darling came to Hamilton because he believed the 
college to be the widest sphere of Christian influence, and 
it is in the more direct spiritual work that we look for the 
largest service of his presidency. As a pastor he believed 
in the plan for the synodical endowment and control of 
the college; and as president, he taught with earnest elo- 
quence, far and near, in church and presbytery and synod^ 
the duty of the Presbyterian church to the college, and 
personally secured the interest and cooperation of influen- 
tial ministers and laymen. Though the completion of the 
particular plan may have been withheld, the service ren- 
dered has had its effect in lifting the Christian position 
of the college before the people and maintaining its classes 
in spite of the attractions of the larger colleges. His direct 
Christian work was felt in the class room and in the col- 
lege pulpit. To every class he gave instruction in theism, 
Christian ethics and evidences; and in addition to the bur- 
dens of teaching and management, so greatly did he value 
the opportunity of spiritual influence, he undertook the 
duties of college pastor, giving each week from the college 
pulpit messages of truth that had direct and present fitness 
to college life. To his prescience and faith, no less than to 
the liberality of his friend, is due the beautiful hall of the 



85 

Y. M. C. A., the visible embodiment of the prayers and 
toils of the fathers, and vital principles of the present life, 
and a significant forecast of the future years. 

I say to his prescience ; for he felt the necessary alliance 
of religion and learning, and would make them inseparable 
in the teaching and life of Hamilton College. It is true 
that he regarded the Christian college as the special train- 
ing school of young men on the way to the gospel ministry, 
and he rejoiced in the large number of youth - led in no 
small part by his teaching and influence, to devote them- 
selves to the holiest of all callings. But his vision for 
Hamilton College was far wider than a feeder for the 
church. He profoundly felt the relation between Christian- 
ity and all true culture, all sound society, all beneficent 
movements. 

Man is a hideous deformity without the God-ward 
growth; " the affluent springs of true greatness" forever 
dried up without faith. The ' ' all things fair " that culture 
brings, the ''perfect gain" of knowledge — if the fact and 
mission of Christ be forgotten — will leave the soul of man. 

" A spot of dull stagnation, without light 
Or power of movement." 

And all the wealth of character, experience, influence 
were used by Dr. Darling to vivify and strengthen the re- 
ligious forces of educution. He built upon the foundations 
of the prophets and the apostles. Will you not hear again 
the words of the heroic souls who have given us our life ? 
What does our first president say to us ? " Mere science 
without moral and religious habits is a curse and not a 
blessing to the community." And fifty years later choosing 
the words of olden time, the sainted Fisher urges that 
"the college be linked to the very life of the church.'' 
And he, of the subtlest intellect and the finest culture, the 
friend of Webster and Choate, reminds us that ' ' education 
to be truly and in the largest sense beneficent, must also 



86 

be religious." And the last of this noble line, standing in 
the pulpit and seeing in the faces of the young men before 
him, the practical and far-reaching mission of educated 
men, exclaimed: ''Learning's end is the glory of God, 
and the help of man's estate. Be faithful to God, your 
race and your country. " 

Herein lies Dr. Darling's work for Hamilton College. 
Not in the increase of endowments, or the erections of fine 
buildings, or the growth of new branches and facility of 
study — though something was accomplished in all of these 
directions — but in adding to the imperishable forces of 
spiritual truth, in making the institution grow and flourish 
in the spirit of its apostolic founder, ' ' Aiding the reign of 
virtue and the kingdom of the blessed Redeemer." 

I can not hope to have drawn a perfect or lasting por- 
trait of this servant of God. The man was greater than 
his work. Not in his exertions but in his character was 
the finest and subtlest power on the destinies of youth. 
There is mystery and pathos in the fact that God called 
him, when just before the eye was the vision of happier 
and better days for himself and the college. He was 
another example of that law of progress that the individual 
withers, but the truth is more and more. Again it may be 
said of the leader, ' ' He dies there in the land of Moab, 
and goes not over to possess that good land." 

We may believe that in simple trust and sublime 
patience he received the word that he should not see the 
end of his labors, and that he might pass from earth before 
his work had received the appreciation of men. But he 
could wait, 

" Safe in himself as in a fate. 

So always firmly he: 

He knew to bide his time, 

And can his fame abide, 

Still patient in his simple faith sublime, 

Till the wise years deside ?" 



87 

From the Clinton Courier, Dec. 9, 1891. 

The tributes rendered to the memory of President Dar- 
ling, on Sunday, at the memorial service, by Dr. Silliman 
and Prof. Hoyt, were as just as they were eloquent, and 
must have left upon the minds of all who listened to them 
a lasting and truthful impression of the exalted character 
of the deceased scholar. Even the memory of his saintly 
face' and august presence to those who have looked upon 
him in life must seem like a lingering, loving benediction, 
whether they were favored with a personal acquaintance 
or not. 



LETTERS. 

The following are a few of the many letters received : 

Union Theological Seminary, ) 
700 Park Ave., v 

President's Office. New York City. ) 

Mrs. Henry Darling : 

Dear Madam : — A stranger to you, I may yet venture 
upon my long acquaintance with your honored husband, to 
express my sincere sympathy with you in the great bereave- 
ment which you are called to endure. I imagine the rela- 
tion which has been interrupted and changed, but not de- 
stroyed, between you and him, whom the Lord has claimed ; 
and I can but feel that your loneliness must be inexpres- 
sibly great. I remember him as a young man just out of 
the seminary, genial, gentle, attractive and full of promise. 
He has gone not from you but before you, and I hope you 
will enjoy him as transfigured to be always with you. My 
desk where I write, is on the spot where stood the bed 
from which my father went to heaven. I have delightful 
fellowship with him, and feel that he is not far away. The 
' ' cloud of witnesses " is growing larger, and in it, the dear 
ones who are vital parts of our life, stand out in relief, 
beckoning us to tread the upward path with steady and 
quickening steps. 

The heavens above us are full of these silent appeals 
to our earthly weakness. May you have Divine comfort in 
your great sorrow. May the grave lose its hold upon your 
human feeling, that heaven may fill your vision and flood 
your soul with peaceful anticipation. 

With great respect, 

Very truly yours, 

Thos. S. Hastings. 

April 25, 1891. 



2320 Spruce Street, ) 

Philadelphia, Pa., April 28, 1891. J 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

Greatly shocked was I to hear of the sudden sorrow that 
has overwhelmingly come upon you and your family. One 



8 9 

who has known Dr. Darling as long and as well as I, need 
not be told what he was as a man, and a minister, and a 
Christian ; and no one who ever moved as I did in his 
family circle, needs to be told what he was as a husband 
and father. I have seen few men to whom a whole family 
were so devoted and deservedly so. 

No one but God either knows or can assuage a grief so 
deep. I pretend to no words adequate to the occasion. 
I simply wish to mingle my tears with yours, and suggest 
the Eternal God as your refuge, whose everlasting arms 

are still underneath you and yours 

Your attached and grateful friend, 

Arthur T. Pierson. 



From Rev. D. W. Poor, D. D., Secretary of Board of Education. 

Philadelphia, April 22, 1891. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I was startled and pained yesterday by reading the an- 
nouncement of the death of your noble husband. I was 
not prepared for it. 

His tall, stalwart, vigorous frame seemed to promise 
great longevity, and his position seemed to demand it. 
But the rapid departure of our distinguished leaders seems 
to be a feature of the times. It is putting the whole church 
in mourning. 

There are many that sympathize with you in your be- 
reavement, I am one. It is with great pleasure I recall his 
hospitable reception in my visits to Hamilton College, and 
I feel that I have lost a friend 

With sincere regards to yourself and your family, 

Yours in sympathy, 

D. W. Poor. 



From Rev. Anson J. Upson, D. D., LL. D., Chancellor of the Board of Regents of 
the State of New York. 

Glens Falls, N. Y., April 23, 1891. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I can not tell you how shocked and saddened I was by 
the sudden ending of your husband's earthly life. 

The news came to me at Sandy Hill, where I was at- 
tending a meeting of the Presbytery of Troy. And it 
would have been a comfort to you and your family to have 



90 

heard the universal expression of sorrow and sympathy 
from all the ministers. 

I fear I can say nothing that will not add to the bitter- 
ness of your grief. And yet I want to assure you how 
truly I respected and honored your husband, and how 
highly I valued his friendship, and how inexpressibly it 
saddens me to think that I shall see his face no more. If 
ever a man lived a useful life, he certainly did. At Ver- 
non, at Hudson, at Philadelphia, at Albany, at the college, 
God honored his labors by most beneficent results. How 
many souls has he led to Christ ! How many of God's 
people he has built up in their most holy faith, strength- 
ening and comforting them by his word and example. 
How devoted he has been to the interests of the college. 
God will reward him and will honor his memory for his 
unselfish devotion. 

Most sincerely yours, 

Anson J. Upson. 



From Rev. Prof. T. G. Darling, D. D., Auburn Theological Seminary. 

It was with great regret that I found myself debarred 
from witnessing by personal presence, not only to my own 
respect and affection for your lamented father, but also to 
the esteem in which we all held him for his most helpful 
services to the seminary. The news reached us just before 
our customary prayer meeting, and our thoughts were di- 
verted from the appointed theme and this most unexpected 
calamity (on its earthly side) was made the subject of our 
remarks and prayers. The hearty and sincere grief of his 
old students attested their sense of loss, alike to them- 
selves, the college and the church; and all the interests so 
seriously afflicted were commended to God in earnest 
prayer. It is now about eighteen years since your father, 
at my ordination, commended me to the prayers of the 
people whom he charged on my behalf. I well remember 
the kindly greeting with which he welcomed me into the 
Presbytery, a kindness and consideration which knew no 
change in all these years. He had always a word of per- 
sonal interest and encouragement, amid all the pressure of 
perplexing cares and conflicting interests, never seeming to 
lose sight of any one in whom he had ever been interested. 

I could quite understand how this had endeared him to 
the younger men, so that one after another should rise in 



9i 

our meeting and speak of your father's personal affection 
and solicitude and his practical helpfulness. 

His warm social nature must in his own home have 
made his relations to you all even more close than is usual 
in happy home life, and I can understand therefore how 
severe must be this unexpected blow, and how peculiarly you 
all are in need of the help and comfort that only the 
Father in heaven can minister. 

When the shock of grief is somewhat passed you will, I 
know, find great comfort in the memory of all the love and 
noble service for God and man which the grave can not 
hide and which must grow brighter as the results of it keep 
following him into the better country. You may be sure 
that many are bearing you all in their hearts before God, 
and that he who does not willingly afflict understands your 
loss and will Himself draw near and make the darkness 
light with His own presence. 



Utica, N. Y., April 20, 1891. 
Dear Mrs. Darling: 

It is with surprise and sorrow I hear of Dr. Darling's 
death. I did not know he was seriously ill, although I 
missed him from Presbytery. 

I assure you and your family of my sincere sympathy. 
May God be near to comfort and sustain you. In Dr. 
Darling's death I feel a personal loss, for he was a good 
friend to me. The college, the church and the community 
will be the poorer for his departure. 

Yours in Christian sympathy, 

R. L. Bachman. 



American Tract Society. 

New York, April 21, 1891. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I have learned with profound regret of the death of your 
honored husband, my beloved and revered friend. A 
great and mighty man has fallen in Israel. The loss to 
the church and the college is beyond estimate ; and to you 
and your family none can realize, as you who experience 
it. But what a splendid legacy of character, nobility and 
accomplished effort he leaves to you and to the church ! 
With sincere sympathy of Mrs. Rice and myself, I remain, 

Yours in Christian love, 

Wm. A. Rice. 



92 

From the Rev. Prof. Willis J. Beecher, D. D., Auburn Theological Seminary. 

Auburn, N. Y., April 22, 1891. 

Mrs. Henry Darling. 

Dear Madam : — Permit me as one who sincerely mourns 
for your honored husband, to offer you my deepest sym- 
pathy. I held him in high esteem and affection, and I 

feel his death as a personal bereavement 

I cannot refrain from thus saying to you and your 
family, what you already know, how highly I appreciated 
Dr. Darling, and how warmly I loved him. 

Truly yours, 

Willis J. Beecher. 



From Rev. J. M. C. Holmes, D. D., of Albany. 

Laurel House, ) 

Lakewood, April 21, 1891. j 

My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I have just received the painful intelligence of the death 
of Dr. Darling. It comes to me as a startling surprise. I 
had not even heard he was ill. But sudden death seems 
characteristic of the present time. In the midst of life we 
are in death. 

With all my heart I sympathize with you and your 
household in this severe sorrow. 

I have known Dr. Darling almost all my life. When I 
was a boy in college I used very often to hear him preach 
in Hudson, and the impress of those sermons is upon me 
still. During the last few years I have known him better 
and loved him more, and to-day I feel for you with a 
generousness of sympathy which wells up from my soul. 

But Dr. Darling's death is not alone a loss to you and to 
yours. The whole church will feel it. Hamilton College 
will greatly suffer by it. He has faithfully served the 
cause of Christ in varied spheres and will be widely missed 
and mourned. With kindest regards and tenderest sym- 
pathy I am, 

Very sincerely yours, 

John M. C. Holmes. 



From the Rev. Dr. G. B. Spalding, of Syracuse. 

4 ' I was shocked at the intelligence of President Dar- 
ling's death. My heart is full of sorrow ; for my respect 
and affection for him were large. My sympathy with his 



93 

dear family is most tender. All my impulses are to leave 
everything to be present on the sad occasion of the funeral 
on Thursday; but Westminster Church is to be dedicated 
at that time and I have promised to give the sermon. I 
am profoundly sorry at my inability to be with you, who 
mourn. A noble man and a Christian gentleman has gone 
from us." 



From the Rev. A. H. Evans, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Lockport, N. Y. 

' ' I cannot hope to give you any comfort in your great 
sorrow, but I ask you to be assured of my deepest sym- 
pathy. 

' ' I learned both to respect and love Dr. Darling. In all 
my intercourse with him he ever exhibited the finest quali- 
ties of Christian grace. The better I knew him, the more 
I was drawn to him. While associated with him in the 
faculty of Hamilton College, I came to have the profound- 
est admiration for the nobility and dignity of his bearing, 
for his courtesy and charity and patience. I am greatly 
indebted to his life and thought. 

" His work abides. Scores of young men educated under 
him are testifying to-day in many fields of labor to the 
worth of his character, the largeness of his heart and to 
his fidelity to the word and work of God." 



Guilderland, N. Y. , June 19, 1891. 
Mrs. Dr. Darling. 

Dear Madam : — Excuse a stranger, but I knew your be- 
loved husband for forty years, ever since we were class- 
mates in Auburn Seminary, and for ten years knew him 
better as a member of Albany Presbytery, when it was a 
red letter day to meet him. 

I always felt it paid to attend every session if Dr. Darling 
was present. We loved him as a brother and believed in 
him as a counselor. He was truly a man to be trusted. 
Seldom did any man dispute his decisions. 

I find the enclosed tribute from Mrs. Alden, and thought 
may be you would not see it. It is a true and loving 
memorial of a dear good man, and it was just like Dr. 
Darling to be a friend and help us brethren from the poor 
country churches. I want the world and the Christian 
church to know it. And may I ask, can we not have some 



94 

memorial published that will portray his virtues and be a 
permanent tribute to the memory of so true and honored 
servant of Jesus Christ ? 

Stricken down as you are by your incomparable loss, 
you have most precious memories of him who has served 
his age so well, and died lamented by thousands in the 
church of God. 

Yours in sympathy and Christian love, 

(Rev.) N. W. Belden. 



From Rev. Dr. Alexander Alison, Philadelphia, Penn. 

Permit me, if you please, to extend to you and your 
afflicted family the heartfelt sympathy of Mrs. Alison and 
myself in the loss you have sustained in the departure of 
dear Dr. Darling to his reward. It was my great privilege 
to have known him and met him several times in Hamilton 
College and at your Christian home. His kindness to me 
in our personal contact ; his interest in my son, who as you 
know is a member of the class of '92 ; and the high posi- 
tion he has occupied in our honored church, as well as the 
fragrance which attaches to his memory as far as many 
years a pastor in this city, have drawn me to him in bonds 
of high regard and esteem. 

May the precious Lord and Saviour whom your now 
sainted husband so highly exalted not only in his preaching 
and teaching but in his life, be at this time and henceforth 
the exceeding comfort and stay of you and your beloved 
children. 



From Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, Esq., of New York. 

1 • How my heart goes out to you all, and my prayers have 
been lifted, that through the rift in the dark cloud you may 
see the Son of Righteousness, to sustain you. Human 
words seem idle at such a time as this. I telegraphed you 
what a great loss my revered and beloved friend would be 
to the church and community. I loved him. 

' ' His death must have been like Howard Crosby's, whose 
last message was, * My heart is sweetly in Jesus and my 
hand is in His." ' 



95 

From the Rev. George W. Knox, D. D. 

Tokyo, Japan, June 19, 1891. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

The New York Evangelist brings the sad news of your 
great loss, and from this faraway land I would send my 
word of sympathy. 

My visit at your hospitable home during commencement 
week in 1888, is one of pleasantest memories of my fur- 
lough. Dr. Darling was a most genial, sympathetic, 
earnest, spiritual friend and host. My glimpse of him gave 
me a true though limited knowledge of the estimable 
qualities so warmly mentioned and highly prized by all who 
knew him well. 

I know, dear Mrs. Darling, that you have the only com- 
fort that can avail in your sorrow. When our Father af- 
flicts most deeply He is most present in His unfailing con- 
solations, most precious in blessing and mercy. 

Give my sympathy and regards to all the members of 
your family. Very sincerely yours, 

George W. Knox. 



From the Herald and Presbyter. 

Winter Park, Fla. , May, 1891. 
Dear Herald and Presbyter : 

Among the lists of those who have lately been called 
higher, I find the name of Rev. Henry Darling, D. D. , and 
with the well remembered name there troop up a host of 
memories, some of which so well illustrate the spirit of the 
man, in lines where perhaps he was not so well know to 
the public, that I am moved to write of them for the sake 
of those who loved him. 

Years ago — why, almost a quarter of a century ago — 
' ' we" were serving a little church but a few miles from the 
city of Albany, N. Y. I remember that the drive of a 
dozen miles or so to Albany was one of the ' ' perquisites" of 
the pastor's wife, enjoyed as few rides have been since. 
Among other occasions, we rode in one morning to a meet- 
ing of Presbytery, and it was there that I first saw Dr. 
Darling. I had heard his name quoted as pastor of the 
Fourth Church, and when the tall form and scholarly face 
of the man were pointed out to me, I felt a sense of satis- 
faction in the thought that face and reputation matched. 

There was not supposed to be much of interest to out- 



9 6 

siders — meaning women — in Presbytery that morning, and 
I was occupied chiefly in waiting for the minister who was 
to take me on a shopping expedition. Just in front of me 
sat Dr. Darling and I studied him. Presently came one of 
the Presbyters on tiptoe, whispering a request that Dr. 
Darling would ' ' use his influence" for a resolution which 
would very soon be offered, and against which there was 
likely to be strong opposition. The doctor listened, and 
questioned, and finally promised to "do what he could." 
Presbytery suddenly became interesting to me; I wanted 
to hear Dr. Darling. 

The resolution was submitted, and the tall man arose to 
his feet. This was what he said : ' ' Mr. Moderator, I trust 
the question will be put at once, without taking time for 
debate; the wisdom of the resolution is manifest." 

Then up rose a little man with a voluble tongue; he 
poured an avalanche of words into the ears of the Presby- 
ters; he was sure, apparently, that the cause of religion in 
that Presbytery would be disgraced, perhaps ruined, if that 
motion carried. I cannot recall at this time what the 
motion was, nor was it vital enough to even rouse the in- 
terest of an outsider, until it was roused by the whiff of 
controversy which was evidently in the air. At last the 
voluble man stopped for breath, and Dr. Darling arose. 
' ' Mr. Moderator, " he said, in his slow, deliberate way, 
which those who knew him will remember so well, ' ' I hope 
that the question will be put without debate." Only this, 
and one or two timid voices murmured " Question !" But 
another opposer secured the floor, and urged what he con- 
sidered vigorous reasons against the movement; and again 
Dr. Darling arose to respond, and said: "Mr. Moderator, 
I earnestly hope that this question will be put without de- 
bate; there is, in my judgement, no room for it." " Ques- 
tion !" shouted a dozen voices, and the voluble man sat in 
indignant silence, while the resolution was carried by a fine 
majority. 

"Thank you," said the man who had tiptoed around 
with his request, grasping Dr. Darling's hand heartily at 
the first moment of recess; " you saved us much precious 
time and an annoying debate. I knew your words would 
tell for the right side." 

" I only asked for the question," said the doctor, blandly. 
And I moralized over the incident; wondered what there 
was in the tone and manner of the man which certainly 
carried conviction to some apparently undecided ones. 



■H 



97 

What was there in that simple suggestion which made us 
feel as though a debate in that connection would be a 
childish thing, quite out of place ; and as though the most rea- 
sonable action possible would be to vote in the affirmative 
without delay? I put the question before the special min- 
ister with whom I was privileged to argue all points, but 
he only smiled and said : " It was the force of the man be- 
hind the suggestion which told." 

Well, it was that morning that the said minister asked 
me: " Would you like to be introduced to Dr. Darling?" 
" Oh, no," I said, "do not let us trouble him with in- 
troductions to people whom he need not know. I am 
nothing to him, and he would forget me in two minutes 
afterward." Nevertheless, as we stood for a moment just 
after the benediction was pronounced, Dr. Darling came 
that way, offered his hand to that particular minister, and 
said, "Is this your wife?" with a hand outheld to me. 
The next word was: "Where are you staying? That is a 
long distance; come home with me to dinner; Mrs. Dar- 
ling will be glad to know your wife. Why, brother, we 
are neighbors, and should know one another." 

Of course we demurred, and were overruled, and carried 
not unwilling captives into the home life of this man of 
God. What a sweet home it was ! It has been a picture 
in my heart-gallery ever since. We were young and timid, 
and astonished that the great city pastor and his wife should 
take so hearty an interest in these beginners in an obscure 
field. But hearty it was, and genial; we were welcomed 
as brother and sister beloved, instead of as strangers. 

" Don't you want to see my garden?" asked the doctor 
with a beaming face, and he took us with manifest pride to 
the outlook where, walled in by brick and stone of neigh- 
boring houses, there grew and thrived, in a plat ten feet or 
so square, some sweet, old-fashioned flowers and shrubs. 
' ' My husband's rest corner, " said his wife, smiling, and 
added with a bright little laugh : ' ' When he shows the 
garden, I always show the fruit pantry ; it is so conven- 
ient. Wouldn't you like to look at it ?" 

Of course I would ; young housekeeper that I was, with 
only two feet of closet in the parsonage at home, and am- 
bitions in all such directions. 

I might almost be forgiven for casting envious eyes 
about that large, bright, exquisitely clean room, with its 
rows of shelves laden with jars all carefully labeled, with 
its rows of drawers, and its corner cupboards, and its 



spicy, fruity smell. But the thing which lingers chiefly in 
memory, and which amazed me at the time, was the jelly. 
Shelf after shelf of generous length and width filled, crowd- 
ed, with little glass jars of jelly. "What in the world will 
you do with it all?" I asked, remembering as I spoke, all 
the little Darlings, of which there were, I think, seven, 
but yet amazed at their possible capacity for jelly. And 
the lady laughed merrily over my puzzled face. "Do you 
think we eat it all?" she asked. "Why, Mr. Darling goes 
out calling every afternoon of his life with a package of 
tracts in one pocket and a glass of jelly in the other. There 
are always sick people, you know, in a congregation like 
ours." Yes, I came to know it well, and to understand 
what a means of grace those pretty jelly glasses were in ju- 
dicious hands and backed by earnest hearts. 

It was but a short time after this first visit that I was 
boarding for a few weeks in the city under the care of a 
physician who introduced me to the city hospital, and 
urged me to call as often as I could in the woman's ward, 
with a few words of cheer for the sufferers there. 

How many did I meet, I wonder, who had much the 
same story to tell: "Oh, yes, we go to church; we belong 
to Dr. Darling's church. Do you know him? Isn't he a 
blessed man? We used not to go to church much, but the 
children were in his Sunday school, and last winter my 
husband was hurt and in bed for two months, and that 
blessed man never missed a day from coming to see him, 
and bringing him little things to tempt his appetite. And 
when he got well we went to church. Did you ever hear 
Dr. Darling preach? We think he is a wonderful 
preacher." 

' ' Yes, " said another, her eyes brightening, " I go when 
I can, to Dr. Darling's church. It is a long way off, but I 
don't feel as if I could go anywhere else. I like his ser- 
mons so much, and he knows all the children; he even re- 
membered the baby's name. " 

Everywhere I turned it seemed to me I heard of the 
blessed sermons which Dr. Darling preached, backed con- 
stantly by the visit to the house of trouble, or the little 
glass of jelly, or the earnest word for the awkward, half- 
grown boy, or the remembrance of the baby's name. ' ' I 
am learning lessons in regard to the ' secrets of power' 
hidden in some people's lives," I wrote to the minister who 
stayed by the little church in the country. 

There are so many tender memories of little things; 



99 

some of them are personal. ' ' Brother, where do you buy 
your groceries?" asked the busy city pastor one day, as we 
lingered in his study for a word of advice on another matter. 
"Well, now, suppose I should introduce you to my man 
here in the city? Oh, you don't buy much at wholesale, of 
course; such a little family as yours" — he might have added, 
"and such a little purse as yours," but he did not — " I'll 
tell you what we will do. I buy my sugars and coffees and 
such matters at wholesale ; it makes quite a difference. I 
am laying in a stock now, and, if you like, I will go down 
with you and suggest that twenty-five pounds of sugar and 
a package of coffee be taken from my barrel and sack, and 
put in a box for you." And the pen dropped from his 
fingers and he arose with a beaming face to do his little 
delicate kindness for the country pastor. ' ' Do not try to 
carry them with you, " he directed, as the coffee and sugar, 
and one or two other things, having been secured in the 
way proposed; my grateful minister paid the bill; "they 
will crowd your little carriage. I will see that the box is 
sent out to-morrow; I know a way to send it." And he 
sent it. Certainly it would have crowded us. How the 
few modest pounds which we had paid for could require a 
box of that size was a puzzle to us until we opened it. 
What was there not packed away in the corners of that 
box! Raisins, and dried fruits, and fancy soaps, and water 
crackers, and jars of pickles and squares of maple sugar! 
On the top a note in the doctor's hand: " Excuse the 
children and indulge them in a little frolic. They all went 
with me to superintend the packing of the box, which 
proved to be much too large, and nothing would do but each 
must select a token of remembrance with which to fill it 
out; hence the heterogenous mess, which we trust the neat 
housekeeper will forgive. " 

This is only one out of so many little, tender, delicate 
kindnesses with which the more experienced man bright- 
ened the lives and lightened the strain upon the purses of 
those whose life story was in its beginning. We knew, 
also, of many another whose burdens were being made 
lighter by the touch of that kindly hand, which hid its min- 
istrations largely — as largely as possible — from the eyes of 
the world. 

I remember my husband coming from the doctor's study 
one day with a moved look upon his face, and he said, as 
he gathered the reins which I had been holding: " I have 
just seen another exhibition of that blessed man's heart. 



IOO 

It seems that Blank," mentioning a minister in an adjoin- 
ing Presbytery, ' < is in trouble. He has had heavy and un- 
expected expenses — sickness, you know; and he supports a 
mother and sister. He had run more than a thousand 
dollars behind. His church is not able, they say, to help 
him; and there are reasons why it would injure his useful- 
ness if the matter were known among them. I heard it 
talked about a few days ago in a way I did not like, and I 
spoke to Dr. Darling about it to-day. ' Brother,' he said, 
"that matter is all right. Just take pains to say so, will 
you, to any you may hear talking it over?' " 

' ' Yes, " I said, ' ' I will be glad to; but how did he get on 
his feet again?" 

"Why," he answered, almost in embarrassment, "I just 
took a little money I had lying idle, and slipped around 
quietly among a few of my friends who I knew would be 
glad to add to it, and made up the amount in a very short 
time, and sent it out to him — but that is a matter just be- 
tween us." 

"I hope there are a great many who live such lives," 
said 7/zj/ minister, giving a vigorous jerk to the reins; "I hope 
there are; but I don't believe it. I tell you he is one of 
a thousand." 

Why am I writing all this, I wonder? I have told you 
of little things; I could tell literally of hundreds more in 
the same line. There are others who will tell of the great 
man's work in the churches and in the college. I believe 
there may be many who will be moved to say, concerning 
him: " I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Yea, saith 
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their 
works follow with them." But for me, I wanted to pay 
this little tribute to the tender memory of the "touch of a 
vanished hand," along the line of deeds which we call 
"little," but which may, by the Master's own planning, 
grow into a great harvest of reward for him who, after a 
life of steady faithfulness, rests from his labors in his 
Father's house. "Pansy," (Mrs. G. R. Alden.) 



TABLET TO DR. DARLING. 



ERECTED IN HIS OLD CHURCH AT ALBANY, TO PERPETUATE 
HIS MEMORY. 



A handsome bronze tablet made by Tiffany & Co., of 
New York, has been erected in the Fourth Presbyterian 
Church at Albany by his old parishioners, in memory of the 
late Dr. Henry Darling. The inscription is as follows : 

THE REV. HENRY DARLING, D. D. LL. D. , 

BORN, 1823. 

THE BELOVED PASTOR OF THIS CHURCH, 

FROM 1863 TO 1881. 

MODERATOR OE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

IN 1881. 

PRESIDENT OF HAMILTON COLLEGE 

FROM 1881 TO 1891, 

WHEN HE FELL ASLEEP. 

His rare natural gifts were crowned and sanctified by a 
spirituality of purpose, and a consecration of life which 
made him always and everywhere a minister of Christ. As 
a preacher of righteousness he magnified the word of God 
and spoke the word in love. As a shepherd of the flock, he 
bore the needs of the sorrowing upon his heart, and carried 
the lambs in his bosom. His very presence was a benedic- 
tion. The nobility of his nature expressed itself in his face 
of unwonted beauty and refinement. His dignity was innate. 
Instinctively men gave him respect and sought to give him 
honor. He came into the highest office in the gift of his 
brethren as by native right ; but his crown of greatness was 
the love he won. By his own choice, his grave is among 
the people of his last pastoral care, to whom his heart ever 
turned, and by whose loving gratitude his name is enshrined 
in living memory. 



■^H 



